Yes, No, Maybe so
by robsad79
Summary: I don't any rights to Jane Austen. This is a modern tale of Pride and Prejudice.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

People were having a good time at least all but one. One girl was sitting with her sister in the grass. The most entertaining thing for her was pulling the grass out. Whatever her sister was talking about was going out one ear and out the other.

"Oh my god, Lizzy," the girl's other sister said.

"What is it Lydia?"

Lydia plopped herself across Elizabeth. "You won't believe what I heard."

"I'm sure it involves some guy," their sister Mary said.

Lydia rolled her eyes, "maybe."

Mary looked at Elizabeth, "see it is."

Elizabeth wasn't in the mood to hear another argument today from the two. They already had five arguments today.

"Well Lydia? Are you going to tell us?"

"Guess who is renting the Netherfield mansion."

"Brad Pitt?" Elizabeth said with a smirk.

"Oh, I wish. It's Charles Bingley."

Elizabeth and Mary both looked at her confused and said at the same time, "who?"

Lydia sighed, "I swear. Charles Bingley is one of the hottest single bachelors out there in the state of Ohio."

"I have a feeling he's too old for you," Elizabeth said. Elizabeth looked at her watch. She wanted this festival to be over with. Why did she let her parents drag her?

"He's your age."

"I rest my case."

"That's only ten years between us."

"Lydia you are eighteen years old. He's almost thirty."

"So?"

"One, I really doubt dad would let you date him. Second, you are still young. Enjoy it. Trust me."

"Says the girl who is still single," Lydia said to Elizabeth.

Before Elizabeth could say anything, Kitty, Lydia's best friend came over. Both screamed with excitement over this Bingley guy. Mary sighed and got up to explore. Lydia and Kitty soon followed leaving Elizabeth by herself.

Elizabeth took in the silence. She lay down on the grass and watched the sky. Just as she was about to fall asleep, her roommate Jane came over.

"What's up?" Elizabeth asked without looking at Jane.

"Nothing; I figured you would be here." Jane sat on the ground next to Elizabeth. "Did you hear?"

"Did I hear about Bingley? Yes and what's the big deal?"

"Who knows? But your mom and Lydia were starting to bug your dad about him."

"Elizabeth laughed. "I probably should go rescue him."

"Nah, Mr. Lucas came over and took him away. I think they went over to the tent for a beer."

"Good."

"I bet this Bingley has money."  
"Why do you say that?" Jane asked.

"Why else would my mom get excited? I can guarantee you that as soon as I see her; she will brag about him and tell me to head over to his place."

"Your mom just wants to see you happy."

Elizabeth laughed. "Please, my mom just wants me married and out of her hair. Did you know we passed a couple babies on the way here and she kept going, "Oh look, there is Janet. Did you know she has three grandchildren?"

Jane pulled a piece of grass. "It could be worse."

"True."

"Anyways, I heard Bingley is bringing a friend and his sister."

"We could double date. Should I have my mom call your mom?"

"Ha-ha Lizzy." Jane threw a string of grass at Elizabeth. "Besides, maybe they are nice people."

"Sounds cozy," Elizabeth replied.

"What sounds cozy?" George said sitting next to Elizabeth practically touching her whole left side.

"Hi Wickham, how are you?"

"Hi Jane, I'm good."

"What are you doing here?" Not that Elizabeth cared.

"Can't I visit my favorite girl?"

"And which one is that?"

Jane stood up, "Okay I'm leaving you two. See you tonight."

"Yup, should be home soon."

George put his arm around Elizabeth, "ah now we are alone."

Elizabeth couldn't help herself and cuddle up with George. The festival was starting to look better and better.


	2. Chapter 2

Elizabeth groaned as her bed started to shake. Was there another earthquake going on?

"Lizzy! Wake up!"

Elizabeth rubbed her eyes to find Lydia next to her bed.

"What are you doing?"

"Guess who Dad met."

"Did Dad meet the pope or something?" Elizabeth looked at her alarm clock and saw it was eight in the morning. "Lydia do you realize it's eight?"

"You have to get up for church anyways."

Elizabeth sat up in bed. "I'm counting down the days you start college in the fall. So who did Dad meet?"

"Charles Bingley."

Elizabeth fell back down and turned on her side. "You woke me up for that?"

"Yes, this is important."

"Lydia can you do me a favor? Go home and I will see you in a few hours at church."

Lydia frowned and got up. Jane was standing at the door entrance to Elizabeth's bedroom. Lydia looked at Jane and said, "Your roommate needs coffee."

Jane smiled at Lydia. "And you're just learning this now?"

Lydia frowned again and left the two. If Elizabeth and Jane wouldn't listen, she would just have to go bug Mary. She had to tell someone her news.

"What's the big deal about this Bingley again?" Elizabeth asked Jane on way to church.

"Who knows?"

Rumor had it that Charles Bingley would be attending their church. Not one woman was paying attention to Collin's latest sermon. Although, neither were the men. From what Elizabeth could see, he didn't show up today. There were a lot of disappointed women who kept their eyes open at every corner and door.

Elizabeth was in line for coffee when she froze in place.

"Hello Miss Bennet."

"Hi Collins," Elizabeth replied back as she rolled her eyes.

"How are you this lovely evening?"

"I'm fine."

"That's good to hear. You know, there is a production the church is doing that I think you would really enjoy. It will move you spiritually."

Elizabeth could hear Lydia, Kitty, and Jane laughing.

"I'm going to be busy," Elizabeth quickly grabbed Mary. "Here Mary, Collins would love to talk to you."

Mary smiled and Collins looked at Elizabeth. "Elizabeth?"

"Sorry, gotta go."

Elizabeth practically ran into Charlotte Lucas. "Sorry Charlotte."

"No problem. Did Collins ask you out again?"

"Yes and he needs serious help if he thinks I will ever date him."

Charlotte laughed. "He's not that bad."

Elizabeth shook her head. She loved Charlotte but she was just as bad as Jane. They tried to find the good in everyone.

"So are your parents having their annual summer party?"

"Yes they are," Charlotte replied.

"I can't wait."

Lydia interrupted the two. "I hear Bingley will be there?"

"Yup, my Dad invited him and his sister. I guess their friend will be joining them.

"What's their friend's name?" asked Kitty.

"Fitzwilliam Darcy."

Elizabeth slipped out a laugh. "Are you serious? Who names their child that?"

"Maybe he's rich," Lydia said.

Elizabeth shook her head. "Lydia when are you going to realize money doesn't always matter."

"It's good to have in mind. You know Lizzy; you might want to keep that mind also."

Charlotte came to Elizabeth's rescue. "Lydia, Lizzy is saving herself for love. She is one of the lucky few out there waiting for her soulmate. Not some man with money."

"Thanks Charlotte."

Elizabeth did appreciate what Charlotte said, but she herself was starting to wonder if she should just stop waiting for love. She is going to be thirty after all.

"Are you going to bring George? Charlotte asked Elizabeth.

Elizabeth took a big gulp of coffee before answering Charlotte. "No."

"Why not Lizzy, I thought you liked George? Lydia asked.

"I do, but I just don't think I'm ready for him to meet Mom and Dad." Or ever, Elizabeth thought to herself.

"I say go for it. Have you met his friend Denny?"

"Yes and I heard the two of you have gotten to know each other."

"Maybe," Lydia said blushing.

After much debate Elizabeth and Jane picked out their outfits for the Lucas party. Elizabeth was jealous of Jane. She had a short jean skirt on with a cute brown tank top. You could see a black bikini top underneath. Elizabeth was sporting a pair of jean shorts with an old plain white shirt. She was also wearing a black one piece underneath. Elizabeth didn't have the body for a bikini like Jane.

As they walked around to Lucas's backyard, all eyes were on Jane. Elizabeth could bet that if she did something embarrassing no one would notice. Although as the two walked to a group of friends, Elizabeth noticed a guy watching her. She started to watch him herself and tripped on a rock in the process.

Jane helped Elizabeth up, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine."

"Nice move Lizzy," said Lydia coming up to the two. Lydia couldn't wait. She had to point out Charles Bingley. Elizabeth didn't see what the big deal was. He was cute but not that cute. His friend caught her attention though. It was the guy staring at her a few minutes ago. He had gorgeous brown hair. Just from a distance his eyes were perfectly shaped. He had a small nose, but those lips. Elizabeth couldn't stop staring at his lips.

"Lizzy?"

Elizabeth brought herself back to attention. "Huh?"

"Where did you go?" asked Jane.

"Lost in thought I guess. So who is the guy with Bingley?"

Charlotte looked over and said, "That is Fitzwilliam Darcy."

Elizabeth thought it was a shame. This Fitzwilliam was too cute to have a name like that. Bingley spotted their group and headed over to them.

Jane leaned into Elizabeth, "he is cute."

"Not you too," Elizabeth said rolling her eyes.

Jane gave a little laugh just as Fitzwilliam and Bingley along with some girl approached.

"Hi Charlotte, aren't you going to introduce us to your friends?"  
Oh Lord, Elizabeth thought to herself.

"Sure. This is Lydia, Kitty, Mary, Jane, and Elizabeth." Charles Bingley came up to Jane and shook her hand. Elizabeth thought she was going to have to pull them apart.

"This is my sister, Caroline and my friend Fitzwilliam Darcy."

Fitzwilliam looked at Elizabeth, "Nice to meet you." Elizabeth was getting ready to shake his hand, but he never offered. Elizabeth called him a jerk in her head.

Charles asked Jane to dance. Charlotte went off to help with the party. The others went off to do their own thing. This left Elizabeth, Fitzwilliam, and Caroline. Elizabeth had a feeling it was going to be a long night.


	3. Chapter 3

Elizabeth stood there with Fitzwilliam. She couldn't help but watch the way he stood. He looked like he belonged in the Army or Navy. Fitzwilliam was

standing completely straight. His hands were locked together. Caroline next to him was slouching with her arms crossed. Her facial expression matched

Fitzwilliam's.

Elizabeth thought the two would make a beautiful couple; one grump for another grump. If they didn't want to be here, they should just go home. Well

these two weren't going to ruin her fun tonight.

Elizabeth turned herself to Fitzwilliam. "So Fitzwilliam, how do you like it here?

Fitzwilliam turned to Elizabeth. She almost fell over as he looked at her. She had lost herself for a moment. "Please call me Darcy and no I do not like it

here."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes not caring that Darcy or Fitzwilliam whatever his name was saw her eyes. "It looks like Charles is having a good time."

The two watched Charles and Jane dance. Elizabeth couldn't help but smile. She was happy to see Jane in love. Both of them were definitely showing love

at first sight. You could see it in their eyes, smile, and the way they held each other as they danced. Any closer, they would be making out.

"Did you maybe want to dance?" _What_? Elizabeth thought to herself. She couldn't believe she asked him that.

Darcy looked down at Elizabeth, "no thanks."

"Well screw you," Elizabeth kept that comment to herself. She couldn't stand being near him one more minute. She looked for a reason to leave. She saw

Charlotte at the drink table and headed over.

Darcy watched Elizabeth go over to her friend. He had to admit she had beautiful eyes that reminded him of the day sky. Very fine eyes indeed.

Darcy watched Caroline go off with some guy and watched Charles come over to him. _Could Charles be any freakier_? Charles had the joker's smile on his

face.

"Isn't Jane gorgeous?"

"Probably the only one here that is gorgeous. You are one lucky man Charles." Darcy didn't want to break it to Charles that the two could never happen.

Jane was from the wrong side of town. He could see Charles parents reactions the moment they met Jane. He'll just let Charles enjoy Jane for the

evening and break it to him later.

Darcy watched the girls dance. He wondered where Elizabeth was.

"Why aren't you dancing with anyone? What about Elizabeth, Jane's friend?" Darcy looked at Charles. "Please she is very tolerable but not gorgeous to

get my attention."

"You know Darcy; you will never find someone with that attitude."

"Charles, why don't you go back to your partner?" Darcy left Charles to get another beer.

What they didn't know was that Elizabeth and Charlotte overheard the two talking. The two move themselves to a nearby tree where they could hide

from Collins. Neither of them spoke, Charlotte pulled at the grass and shook her head. Elizabeth leaned her head against the tree and pulled her knees

to her chest. Why should she care what this Darcy guy thought? It was his loss. There were plenty of guys waiting. Okay, that was a lie.

She listened to the two guys leave. At least Charles sounded like a nice guy for Jane.

"Can you believe that jerk? The nerve of him, I should go over and –"

"Lizzy, calm down," Charlotte patted Elizabeth's arm.

Elizabeth couldn't get what Darcy said off her mind all evening. She started talking to her friends along with Charles and Darcy in the picture. Throughout

the conversation, she would catch Darcy staring at her. The moment their eyes locked, Darcy would quickly look away. Elizabeth saw Caroline smirking.

She wasn't in the mood to say anything so she let Caroline smirk.

They were talking about the latest movie when they were interrupted by Elizabeth's mom and Lydia. Elizabeth wanted to hide. Whenever the two

approached a conversation, it never led to good things. She knew her mom was up to one thing only and that was to get more information about Charles

and to see if he could be worthy of one of her three daughters. Well Mary and Lydia could fight for him all they want. Not liked it mattered. Charles was

not Elizabeth's type and never would be.

It was enough to make someone gag but there was no stopping Jane and Charles tonight. As Charlotte asked a question to Charles, his eyes were on

Jane. Elizabeth looked at Charlotte who smiled in return. Elizabeth was tempted to ask Jane or Charles if they were planning on having sex tonight, just

to see if they were paying attention.

"So Mr. Bingley, how do you like here?" Everyone turned their attention to Mrs. Bennett.

"Please Mrs. Bennett, call me Charles. After all Elizabeth and I are around the same age."

"You know Jane here, use to be engaged to someone. It was a shame it didn't last. Jane, he was such a nice guy for you –"

Elizabeth tugged on her mom's arm a little too hard. "Yes, well that was a long time ago. As the saying goes, you have to fish before you rail one in."

"What kind of saying is that?" Elizabeth looked up at Darcy. She forgot he had been standing there. "I'm sorry?"

Darcy stood there with his arms crossed looking down at Elizabeth like she was being punished making Elizabeth shrink a little bit. "What saying is that? I

don't think I've heard that of that one."

"You know fish in the sea? There are always bigger fish in the sea?"

"It makes a person sound desperate if you ask me."

_No one was asking you_. "Well some people have to swim to go through relationships to find the one. Even those people who are only tolerable."

Elizabeth had a big grin on her face as she watched Darcy's stiff face become shocked. She heard Charles cough and Charlotte clear her throat in the

background. As Elizabeth walked away from the group, she couldn't help think; _one for me, zero for Fitzwilliam._


	4. Chapter 4

Elizabeth was starting to feel stalked by Darcy. Everywhere she was; he was. Today was just like any other day. In a desperate need for coffee Elizabeth headed over to Starbucks. She opened the door to see a long line. There was only a half hour before she had to be at work. Deciding to take the chance, she joined the line.

There was something familiar about the guy standing in front of her. Elizabeth thought of tapping him on the shoulder but she didn't need to. A guy pushed to get through the line and Elizabeth fell forward. After knocking into the guy, she fell to the ground.

"Sorry."

"Not a problem."

Elizabeth felt a hand help her up. She stood up and saw it was Darcy staring back at her. The two still had to let go even after she stood up.

"Sir, can I help you?"

Elizabeth got out of her trance with Darcy. People were getting irritated behind her. The two were holding up the line. Darcy went to do his order.

Elizabeth had a hard time believing that the person standing in front of her was Darcy. He wasn't in his usual outfit. He had on an old baseball hat, jeans, and Yale t-shirt. She had gotten so use to seeing him wear nice slacks and shirts. Who was this Fitzwilliam Darcy?

Once Darcy made his order, it was Elizabeth's turn.

"Would you like the usual today?"

Elizabeth nodded and paid the cashier. She moved to the side to wait for her coffee. As she walked over, Darcy got his. Taking a sip he nodded to her and left. The jeans were tight around Darcy. Elizabeth watched him go. She couldn't stop staring.

"Your coffee is ready."

"Huh? Oh, thanks." Elizabeth blushed and grabbed her coffee.

It was not a good day for Darcy. It was Sunday and he had to stop into the office. The company had a big client coming tomorrow. Everything had to be perfect. He tried to get other associates to come in but everyone claimed they had important stuff to do. He was stuck doing things on his own.

He had stopped into Starbuck's for a pick me up when he ran into Elizabeth. He knew she was behind him. The moment the door opened and he got a whiff of vanilla, he just knew it. He wanted to tell her how sorry he was about the comment from the party but he just didn't know how to approach it.

To avoid her he pulled his baseball hat down further to his eyes. He figured he would be safe. He never wore lazy clothing around her. That changed everything though when the guy knocked her down. Looking at her in the purples dress made him even more attracted to her.

The clock struck midnight. Elizabeth's work shift was finally over. All day she couldn't stop thinking of Darcy. He was invading her thoughts. This had to stop. Darcy was a jerk. There were plenty of guys she could have thoughts of. Maybe even George. Speaking of George, there was a text from him tonight. Insisting the two meet tomorrow for lunch. She wondered what could be so important. When Elizabeth got home that night she found a note on the fridge.

Lizzy,

I'm visiting Caroline.

Jane

Elizabeth took the note down and put it into a ball and made a basket into the trash. How could Jane go to Caroline's? Jane had to see through her. Elizabeth could. Maybe it was because of Charles. A beeping sound came from the counter. There was a message on the machine. Clicking the button, it was Jane.

"So, I'm not coming home tonight. It's pouring out and I've had a little too much to drink. Talk to you in the morning."

What kind of influence was this Caroline? Jane hardly ever got drunk.

Elizabeth definitely wanted to hear about Jane's evening so she got up early and put a pot of coffee on. Not like it mattered. Elizabeth woke up from the craziest dream. She was in a room. The room was the size of her apartment, maybe even bigger. Chandeliers were spread all over the ceiling. Instead of bulbs there were candles in place. The candles lit up the room. It reminded Elizabeth of an old ballroom.

She stopped in her tracks when she saw herself in a mirror. She wasn't wearing her flannel pj's any longer. She had her hair in a bun. The dress she had on looked like a dress you saw in the movies. It was a light blue with a white ribbon tied around her waist. She was also sporting long white gloves. She wondered if the dress could be any tighter at the top. It definitely showed off her chest.

A door opened. Elizabeth turned to see a man coming in. He started towards her. She felt warmth coming all around her. A butterfly moved in her stomach. It was Darcy in the room with her. Just like her, he had old fashion clothing on.

Darcy didn't say anything to her. She let him take her hand. They went to the center of the room. The two of them danced around the room. She could hear music playing, but yet there was no band. She wanted to tell him something but she up woke sweating.

Another door opened but this time it was Jane coming home. Before Jane could even close the door, Elizabeth was at the entrance way.

"What?"

"Are we going to discuss last night or do I have to force it out of you?" Elizabeth couldn't help but laugh when she said that.

Jane put her coat on the coat rack and walked past Elizabeth. Elizabeth followed behind her like a lost puppy.

"Was Charles there?"

"No, I didn't see him last night." Elizabeth could hear the disappointment in her voice.

"There is always next time." Elizabeth handed Jane a cup of coffee.

Jane's smile became wide. Elizabeth stood back, a little freaked out. Jane had a joker smile going. "What the heck did they give you last night?"  
"You have off tonight off right?"

"Yeah," Elizabeth didn't like where this was going. She sat on a stool waiting for Jane to speak.

"Don't hate me but I said you would come over tonight to Charles and Caroline's."

Yup Elizabeth didn't like where this was going one bit.


	5. Chapter 5

Three hours later Jane and Elizabeth were on their way to see everyone. Elizabeth had high hopes that someone loved her tonight and would make the night fly by.

Elizabeth's mouth was ready to drop. She knew that Charles lived in one of the nicest neighborhoods but she didn't realize it was Gateway Neighborhood. The Gateway had all the richest people in the city. Anyone was anyone lived here. She was in awe as they drove by every house. Each house was separated at least two miles apart.

The Bingley's driveway was the length of a road. Jane and Elizabeth came to a dead end. It looked like a five star hotel but it was the Bingley's home.

Elizabeth all of a sudden felt out of place. Her apartment was probably smaller than a room in this house. Even her person's house was twelve times smaller.

"Are you sure about this?"

Jane looked at Elizabeth, "why not?"

"Look at the freaking house."

"It will be fun, trust me."

Elizabeth didn't believe her. She stood back as Jane rung the doorbell. Charles opened the door. He walked towards Jane and hugged her. Elizabeth sighed and looked around waiting for the awkward moment to be over.

"Lizzy I'm so glad you came." Was he seriously calling her Lizzy, only her family and close friends did that.

"Thanks Charles."

Charles led the two inside his house. It looked like a museum. They reached a room where she could see Caroline, some woman and man, and Darcy. She locked eyes with him. She forgotten he was going to be here. Of course, he would be here. He was staying with Charles. Elizabeth couldn't move. Did she dare walk over to Darcy and say hi? Charles and Caroline fixed that. Charles came up to her and Caroline walked over to Darcy. As Charles asked how she was doing, she watched Darcy and Caroline interact.

She could have sworn Darcy was staring at her a few times instead of Caroline. It put a smile on her face.

"You look like you're in a good mood."

Elizabeth looked at Charles. "I'm sorry?"

"You have the hugest smile on your face."  
Elizabeth felt her face go red. "Oh, I guess I am in a good mood tonight."

"Well I like you to meet my other sister and her husband."

How Charles was related to these people, she had no clue. Both of his sisters were snobs. Caroline came over to talk to them. Elizabeth faded out of the conversation and went to explore the room. She found herself looking at the bookshelf. As she was exploring the titles, she felt a presence next to her. She didn't have to look to know who it was.  
"There is a group of people chatting and you find yourself at the bookcase?"  
"Books can sometimes be more entertaining than people."

She heard a laugh come from Darcy. "That can be true."

She pulled out a book. "They do have some good ones here."

"I hate to brag." Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "But I have a better collection."

"That's cool."

"Maybe one day, you would like to see it?"  
Elizabeth coughed. "Really, I guess I would like that?"  
"You guess?"

Before Elizabeth could answer Caroline came up to her. "Fitz I could really use your help."  
Elizabeth held a laugh in when Caroline called Darcy, Fitz.

"I'll be right back."  
She watched him with Caroline. They were perfect for each other. They both had money and similar taste. At least Elizabeth assumed the taste was similar. She couldn't help but wish that Darcy liked a girl like her. She would never strike it rich or be beautiful.

A half hour later Elizabeth was sitting on the couch watching the clock. Why did she agree with Jane? She watched Jane and Charles. They were perfect for each other. She hoped Charles wasn't turned off by Jane's shyness. Whenever Jane liked someone she became so quiet. She always had trouble with conversation when it came to the opposite sex. It seemed Charles didn't mind. He was looking straight into her eyes. You could throw something at him and he wouldn't budge. Elizabeth was so happy for Jane, but was also sad. She knew that soon she would lose her best friend. Well she always had George or did she?

The couch seat moved. Elizabeth looked to see Darcy sitting next to her. "Having a good time yet?"

Elizabeth felt herself telling the truth to Darcy. "Honestly? I would rather be at home reading a good book or curling up to a movie."

"That doesn't sound like a bad idea."  
Elizabeth opened her mouth to speak, but was yet again interrupted. "Okay folks, it's time for a good game of poker."  
Darcy got up. "Are you a poker player?"

"Not really."

"I need to talk to her anyways." Both Darcy and Elizabeth looked up to see Caroline standing there.

"What could be so much more important than a fun game of poker?" Darcy asked Caroline.

Caroline sat down next to Elizabeth. Elizabeth scooted further away from her. "You know how us girls are, right Lizzy?"

"Oh yea, definitely," Elizabeth didn't care if Caroline saw her roll the eyes.

She watched Darcy walked away. Elizabeth was hoping to talk to Darcy more. Why? She had no clue.

"Do you admire Fitz?"

"Fitz? Oh you mean Darcy. He seems nice." Elizabeth knew where this was going. "You can have him."

"Oh, I know. I just wanted to make sure you knew. Fitz would never fall for you. You know?"  
Elizabeth watched the group play poker. "I need to make a phone call. Be right back." She got up and left Caroline sitting on the couch.

She called George and didn't get an answer. "Hi it's me. I was thinking we could do dinner. Call me."

"Are you and George dating?"  
Elizabeth dropped her phone. Darcy was standing right behind her. She turned to face him. "You scared me."  
"I was just wondering."  
"We're –"

Elizabeth jumped again, the power went out and she could feel Darcy closing in on her.


	6. Chapter 6

"Oww," both Darcy and Elizabeth said.

"Here you go." Darcy handed Elizabeth her cell phone. As his fingers came upon hers he quickly took his away. He felt funny for that quick second as their skin touched. It reminded him of the time he had a puppy crush on his next door neighbor when he was ten.

All of a sudden he remembered the throbbing pain coming from his forehead when he collided with Elizabeth to reach for her cell.

As he had gotten closer to her seconds ago he noticed those blue eyes again. A man had to be careful staring at her. They could be lost forever.

"Thanks Fitzwilliam. I mean Darcy." Elizabeth's face turned a pink color. It brought a smile to Darcy. "It's okay. I still have people call me Fitzwilliam all the time. Honestly it doesn't brother me."

"It's an interesting name. Were you named after someone?"

"It's been passed down. I think it started back in the early 1800s."

"That's so cool. It beats a name like mine."

Darcy found himself taking a step closer to Elizabeth. His hand slowly went to hers. "I like the name Elizabeth."

He was about to lock hands with her hand when Charles came up to the two of them.

"There you are Darcy. Could you do me a huge favor and help me out with the fuse box?"

Elizabeth watched Darcy leave. What had come over her? Heck what came over him? She felt something that she couldn't explain. What was that? The guy is a jerk. Why was she ready to jump his bones just now? Her conclusion was that there was something in the air.

Looking down at her phone she debated on trying George again. She put her phone in the front pocket of her jeans and headed back to the group. As she walked into the room she came upon a mirror. Her face was pink. She put her hand to her cheek and pressed down. A clear spot showed where her fingers were. It quickly disappeared and went back to pink. She tried to take a deep breathe but her face remained the same. Why was she flushed, usually over a guy like Darcy? This was so not happening.

"What are you doing?"

Elizabeth looked and saw Jane's reflection. Quickly turning around she told Jane it was nothing. Changing the subject she asked Jane what happened to the power.

Charles answered for her. "It looks like the whole city is out. I don't think anyone should leave yet."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. It's not like any one couldn't find their way home. She looked at Jane who perked up when Charles said they shouldn't leave. No way was she staying.

"I'm sure we can find our way back. Jane and I have lived here for years."

Elizabeth watched Jane's face turn from an upward smile to a downward smile. Oh she was going to pay for this later.

"I agree Charles. I'm sure the two ladies would prefer the luxury of their own home."

Elizabeth was ready to thank Caroline for that but kept her mouth shut. Instead she headed to the other room for her coat and purse. She came to a halt when Darcy stepped in front of her.

"Um, I need to go this way."

"Well Jane seems to be staying so why don't you?"  
Elizabeth stepped to the side but Darcy moved in front of her.

"Oh come on, we don't bite."  
Elizabeth looked at Jane's pleading face. Charles's face was full of hope

and Caroline looked like she would kill Elizabeth in her sleep. She couldn't read Darcy's face.

"Fine, maybe we can stay for an hour or two."

Unfortunately for Elizabeth the hour turned to overnight. This was ridiculous. They could easily drive home. Elizabeth would just have to remember to curse the electric company when she got a chance. What made it worse were the sleeping arrangements. Elizabeth had to be put across from Darcy. The thought of him being across from her room drove her crazy all night. She wondered if he thought of her or maybe if he didn't a crap she was there. She was sure he could care less.

Elizabeth woke up a few hours later to find the morning sun shining brightly in her face. She turned over and put her face into the pillow. If there was anything to be thankful for, it was the bed. Elizabeth could only dream about having a bed like this.

There was a knock at her door. She went to answer it and was told breakfast was ready. She thanked the housekeeper and as she closed the door she saw the housekeeper go to Darcy's room. As soon as his door started to crack open she quickly closed the door.

As the door latched her cell went off. She found herself running to it. A big smile came to her face. It was George.

"Hi George, how are you?"  
"Hey sexy, I'm good. Where are you?"

Elizabeth couldn't bring herself to tell George. "I'm out and about."  
"Well how about you, me, and some lunch maybe around one?"

"Would love it," Elizabeth said happily.

Ten minutes later, she was making sure she looked okay before heading down the stairs.

Darcy couldn't help himself. He opened the door as Elizabeth was going down the stairs. He watched her from afar. Closing the door behind him, he soon followed and went down for breakfast. Caroline caught up with him.

"Good morning Fitz." She put her arm through his. Darcy quickly moved his arm away from her. Caroline ignored him and tried again. Darcy flinched as she showed him her teeth when she smiled. "So I see you have been watching Elizabeth a lot lately."

"Why shouldn't I? I find her very attractive for some very strange reason."  
Caroline gave a little huff and walked ahead of Darcy. Darcy couldn't help but smile as he watched Caroline walked away.


	7. Chapter 7

"Is that what you're wearing?"

Elizabeth looked at Jane's reflection in the mirror. "You don't like it?"

"It's cute but I thought it was just dinner?"  
Elizabeth's face went warm. "I thought it would look okay." She turned and fell to the bed and stared at the ceiling. "I'm crazy aren't I?"  
She felt Jane sit on the bed next to her. "Nah and honestly I think you are just confused about George."

"Exactly, he can be a nice guy and he can be a player." Elizabeth sat up and went to her closet. "I feel like I should be going on a game show."

"Just go with your heart."

Jane left Elizabeth in her room to ponder, "Easy for her to say, she already found the one." Elizabeth sighed and went back to her mirror. Sure she wasn't gorgeous but George had to like her for some reason. She wished she knew what it was.

Half hour later George arrived to pick Elizabeth up for dinner. She watched him pull up the driveway. She turned to Jane who was sitting on the couch with Charles. "Do I really want to do this?"

"Sure you do."

"Who are you meeting?" Elizabeth forgot for a moment that Charles was there.  
"Just a friend of mine, his name is George Wickham."

Charles raised his eyebrow to her. "George Wickham? Are you serious?"  
"What? Is there something I should know?"

Before he could reply the doorbell rung. Jane got up from the couch. "Go and have fun. I'll wait up."

Elizabeth nodded her head and opened the door. George was standing there with a smile on his face. She blushed at his smile. "Do you want to come in?" She pointed towards the living room area. She noticed George eyeing Charles and Charles was doing the same thing.

"Nah, let's go eat. I'm starving."

"Okay. See you later you two."  
Elizabeth could feel Charles eyes on her as she closed the door. She was definitely going to have to get some information from him later.

They were sitting at their table when she happened to look to her left. Sitting in the corner of the restaurant was Darcy. Oh this was so not happening. Elizabeth couldn't believe it. Of all the nights to see him, it had to be tonight when she was here with George. She quickly looked away and focused all her attention back on George. He turned to see what she was looking at.

"Do you know him?"

Elizabeth took a gulp of wine the waiter had sat down. "What guy?"

"The guy you were just staring at and who is staring at you."

Elizabeth took another sip. "Oh that guy over there? That is just someone I know."

"Ah. I'm sorry."

Elizabeth choked a little on her wine. "Why are you sorry?"

George rolled his eyes. "I know him. We go way back."

"Oh?"

Elizabeth could feel George's foot touch hers. His foot started to rub against her foot. She felt her face start to get a tiny bit warm. She pulled her foot away and moved it behind her other foot. "So how do you know Darcy?"

George went for a glass of wine and glanced over at him. "I was in love with his sister."  
"Aww, that is so sweet. I think."

George gave her a smile. "You would think so but Darcy was against our relationship from the beginning."

"That's horrible." She looked over at Darcy and shook her head. She quickly turned her head when he looked at her.

"He forbid us to date. He said I wasn't right for his sister."

"What a jerk." She quiet herself down when a couple heads turned in her direction.

George nodded. "Yea. He won't admit it but I know it's because my father was his family's butler. My family was the help. No brother wants their sister to marry the help."

"That is so sad and cruel."

Elizabeth had an idea what was coming next and she was right. It's what every woman wanted to hear. It was the romantic story of a man sweeping the woman off her feet and the two eloping.

"The two of us couldn't bear to be apart. With the help of her maid, Rose Younge we set off to elope one night. The next day when we arrived to the courthouse Darcy beat us there. He grabbed his sister, Georgiana and left me standing there. That was the last time I ever saw her."

Elizabeth wiped the corner of her eye. She found herself annoyed by Darcy. Sure they would never be friends but she thought he at least had a heart. Apparently he didn't.

"But hey enough about the past. If that never happened I would never have gotten closer to you."

Elizabeth felt her face go warm again. "Yeah, I guess that's true."

The two quickly found themselves moving away from the subject of Darcy and started to talk about life in general. Throughout the evening George would work his magic and try to win her over. It just wasn't happening. She couldn't feel a connection with him. She wanted to so bad but it just wasn't working. When he touched her hand on the table she should have felt a shock go throughout her whole body. There was nothing.

She excused herself to use the restroom. When she walked out of the restroom she walked right into Darcy. "I'm sorry."

Darcy backed away from her and let her pass. "Not a problem."

She smiled at him and started towards her table. Darcy stopped her with a touch of his hand. Elizabeth froze. She felt warmth go throughout her whole body. She shook her head and turned to Darcy. "Yes?"

"So you and George are an item?"  
"We might be. Do you have a problem with that?"  
"Nope. Not my problem." Darcy stared at her for a moment.  
"Well I have to go."

He nodded and she left to go back to George.

He watched her walk over to her table. He never could understand how women found themselves attracted to George. He was a user, liar, and gambler. He knew it wasn't his business but he didn't want to see Elizabeth hurt. He would just have to tell Elizabeth what George did to his family.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hope this chapter is okay. Things have been crazy lately.........I swear I'm going to try and update the story more....**

**Enjoy! :)**

* * *

Darcy couldn't get Elizabeth off his mind. After a day of not focusing on work he headed to the bookstore. He stopped at the door entrance when he saw Elizabeth with some guy at the store counter. How could he forget Elizabeth worked here?

He cracked a smile at Elizabeth when she looked over at him. She half smiled at him. He picked up a nearby book to look interested. He couldn't help overhearing the conversation she was having.

"Look Collins, there's nothing I can do. It's what the readers want."

"But Elizabeth don't you want to teach the future generations the right thing? Just take down the display."

"Yes I would love to teach the kids the right thing but I don't think a harmless vampire story will teach them the wrong thing."

Before Collins could come back with a reply Darcy noticed her walking towards him.

"Reading Nora Roberts?"

He looked down at the book and frowned. "Oh, I thought maybe my mom would want it."

"That's sweet."

Darcy started to ask Elizabeth a question when the man at the counter came over to them.  
"Darcy?"

"Yes?"  
"I'm William Collins. I know your Aunt Catherine. I've hear all about you."

Darcy rolled his eyes. "That's nice."

Elizabeth watched the two of them chat. She wanted to laugh out loud but kept it to herself. She felt bad for Darcy but at the same time thought who cared. She was sure Darcy could handle Collins. As they kept talking or more like Collins kept talking she went back to her work.

She was on a ladder trying to balance three books and finish a display when a voice made her jump making her fall off the ladder. Two pairs of hands caught her. She looked into Darcy's eyes who stared back.

Pushing herself up and straightening her dress she told Darcy thanks.  
"Not a problem, it was my fault."

"So what's up?"

"Nothing, I was just in need of a good book. Honestly I forgot you worked here."

"Oh. Well have a look around and let me know if you need anything."

She turned and stopped. "Wait did you need something. You did come over to me."

"I was just curious about something."

Elizabeth picked up a book and held it close to her chest. "Oh?"

"Why are you with George Wickham?"

She frowned and set the book back down. "Not like it's your business but we are just really good friends and maybe have been on a couple dates."

"Well you could do a lot better than him."

Elizabeth crossed her arms and leaned against the ladder and gave a little laugh. "Oh and who would that be? You?"

She waited for his answer but he didn't answer her question. Instead he looked towards the front door and looked back at her. "Well I better get going. I guess I'll see you around."

"Yeah, I guess so."  
She shook her head at his backside as he walked out the door. To think she was almost starting to like him. She was glad George told her the truth about Darcy.

Elizabeth opened the door to her apartment and heard dishes being slammed.

"Jane?"

"I'm in here."

She went over to see Jane buried deep in dishes and dish soap. This wasn't good. Whenever Jane got in a bad mood or a depression, she always cleaned. "What's going on?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Charles?"

Jane turned to her. "What about him?"

"I don't know. I just guessed."

Jane took her rubber gloves off. "He freaking left."

"What? When? Why?"

She followed Jane out to the living room who sat down at the computer. "I'll show you the e-mail he sent."

Elizabeth glanced over Jane's shoulder and read the e-mail and was in complete shock.

Jane,

I want you to know this has nothing to do with you. I have been called to Chicago and I don't see me coming back. I had a great time with you and will cherish it always. I hope we can remain friends. My sister will give you more details on where you can reach us.

Will remember you always,

Charles

Elizabeth went over to the couch. Charles was supposed to be a good guy not someone like Darcy. She shouldn't be surprised though. He was Darcy's friend.

"Jane I thought he was going to stay here in town? I heard about the offer in Chicago but he said he turned it down. What changed his mind?"  
"Who knows and who cares."

Elizabeth stood up and went to the refrigerator. "Please, you care. It looks like you cleaned the whole apartment from top to bottom. I haven't seen that coffee table shine since we moved in."

She got a little laugh from Jane. "I just don't get it Lizzy. Why would he do that?" Jane got out a couple bowls and two spoons.

"I bet it was his sister's doing or even Darcy."

"What would they do?"

Elizabeth loaded the bowls with ice cream. "I don't know. Maybe convince him somehow Chicago was the right thing?" There was definitely something fishy going on. Charles was not the type of guy to just decide something like moving to Chicago and go without saying a proper good-bye. If he did decide he would have been here telling Jane how sorry he was. What was also confusing was that Charles for the couple weeks had shown so much love for Jane that there had to be a good reason for him leaving like that.

The two walked back to the living room and started to look through their DVD collection. She knew it wouldn't be easy but she would get Jane to move on and see that Charles wasn't the right one. It wasn't going to be easy. Jane insisted on a Hugh Grant and Colin Firth movie. The movies only depressed her even more. George wasn't very helpful either. He decided to stop by and as much as Elizabeth loved his flirting it only made Jane go in her room and cry into the night.


	9. Chapter 9

Trying to cheer up Jane was not an easy task. Every little thing reminded Jane of Charles. Elizabeth sighed as she watched Jane pack her bag. Jane had to get out of town. She would miss Jane's company but knew it was for the better. It would give Jane a change of scenery.

The day after Charles emailed Jane, Elizabeth went searching for Darcy. She wanted answers. She couldn't believe it when his neighbor told her he moved out. That was quick. She wondered if it had to do with Charles. She decided not to worry about it and move on with her life. Apart of her though actually was sad he moved away. Not like they were buddies but for some reason she was going to miss his opinions.

She focused her attention back on Jane. "Do you really have to leave? I'm going to be so bored without you."

Jane laughed. "You'll be fine." She stopped smiling. "Besides you have George." Jane sat on her bed and brought her knees into her chest. "What do you think Charles is doing?"

"Oh my god Jane, I love you but you have to stop this. The two of you weren't even together that long. He's not coming back."

"You don't have to remind me. I know you don't understand because you never have been in love."

She rolled her eyes. "That was a little harsh wasn't it?"  
"Sorry but when you find the man you know is your Mr. Right. You will truly understand."  
"Yeah, well I'm starting to wonder if Mr. Right exists."  
Jane didn't say anything. She got back up and started towards her closet to finish packing.

The next day Elizabeth was staying in and watching movies. Her hair was in a messy ponytail and she was sporting sweats with an old college t-shirt. She still had yet to shower. She couldn't figure it out but she just didn't have the motivation to go outside. All she wanted to do was stay in and be miserable. Everytime she closed her eyes she saw Darcy staring at her.

She was on another Ben & Jerry when someone buzzed in. Taking as much effort as she could, she got up from the couch and headed to the intercom.  
"Hello?"

"Elizabeth, its Collins. I would love to talk to you right now."

She hit her forehead against the wall. Of all the people who wanted to see her, it had to be Collins.  
"I'm busy right now."

"It will only take a few minutes I swear."

"Fine, come up."

Three minutes later she was letting Collins into her messy apartment. Collins came over to her to give her a hug but he stepped back and gave her a disapproving look.

She crossed her arms. "What?"

"Is this how you dress when you have company?"

She looked down at her shirt which now had an ice cream stain. "So I like to be comfortable around the house. No big deal."

"But proper clothing for a male companion coming over would be more appropriate."

She started to laugh and had to take a deep breathe to stop. "Please. This is not the 1800s."

Collins walked past her. "Anyways, I wanted to talk to you about the future."

"What about the future?"

Collins put his hand on her arm. She pulled her arm away. "Our future and I've come here today to ask for a date. I'm hoping we can finally move on and start our lives together."

She started to cough up a lung. Collins pounded her back. "You have to be kidding me."

"I know you feel the same way."

Elizabeth went for a glass of water. "Collins, it's not going to happen."

"We should go to –"

"Collins, we are not or ever in our lifetime going to date!"

He stood there shaking his head. "You'll be making a mistake. You'll see."

He walked to the front door. "I won't be coming back. You had your chance."

Elizabeth stood there not sure if she should laugh or curse. She stopped when the phone rung and saw Lydia's cell coming up on the caller ID.

After a lot of persuading Elizabeth was on her way to Applebee's to meet

Lydia and Kitty. She was sitting at the bar taking a few shots when Lydia and Kitty came in. Lydia waved and walked over. Elizabeth took a big gulp of her last shot and tried to get off the stood but slipped on the floor.

"Drunk already? It's only six." She didn't say anything to Lydia. "Also couldn't you have done something with your hair and maybe use that lovely thing called make-up? It would do wonders."

"Whatever."

As she sat down in the booth with ease she happened to look to her left. Sitting only a few tables from her was George. She sunk down into the seat trying to disappear and become one with the booth. Kitty looked to see where Elizabeth was staring. "Oh isn't that?" She gave Kitty a glance telling her to shut up.

"Who is that woman he's with?" Lydia asked pointing to a red head.

Elizabeth noticed the woman for the first time. That was a good question. Who was that?  
Lydia got up. Elizabeth sat back up in seconds. "What are you doing?"

"I want to meet your competition."

"I swear Lydia if you."

It was too late. Lydia was walking over to George. All she could do was put her hand on the side of her face and memorize the menu. Lydia was back in minutes.

"Well tell us." Elizabeth glared at Kitty again. She didn't want to hear any of this.

"Her name is Mary King. She's a lawyer and you can definitely see she has money. You should see her outfit."

She couldn't take anymore of this. "I'll be right back." Heading to the restroom she didn't see George when she bumped into him. Her face smacked right into his chest. She felt his hands attached themselves to her arms. She looked up at him and he pulled her away and looked down at her.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry about that."  
"Look, I didn't want you to see Mary."

She crossed her arms despite the fact his hands were still attached. "Oh and why is that?"

"It's just my mom wanted me to go on a date with her and I couldn't break that promise."

"That's okay. I understand."  
He lifted her chin into his hand. "Really? That's great." He gave her a hug tightly pushing her into his chest. Strangely enough she didn't care if George was on a date. They said their good-byes and Elizabeth tried to enjoy the rest of her night. She was relieved when she got home and could get into bed. That night she had another dream of Darcy.


	10. Chapter 10

**_This chapter was a little hard to write. I was trying to picture Charlotte marrying Collins in the twenty-first century lol....._**

A week past since the night she ran into George and Elizabeth was doing a little better. There were times though where she was still reminded of Darcy. If there were two people who changed that and made her think of other things it was Charlotte and Collins.

It had been awhile since she met Charlotte up for coffee. For the longest time it had become a tradition to meet every week for a drink. It was a time for Elizabeth to complain to Charlotte about her family.

The two sat down at the table and Elizabeth took a sip of her coffee before starting up a conversation with Charlotte. She wanted to know what was going on. The moment Charlotte walked into Starbucks she could see something was going with her. She hoped Charlotte finally found someone. Charlotte deserved to be happy.

"So what's on your mind tonight?"

She heard a sigh come from Charlotte. "What about you? Anything you want to chat about? Maybe your family?"

She gave a little laugh. "Oh come on. Just tell me what's going on."  
"Well I found someone."

Elizabeth set her coffee down. "I'm so happy for you. I can't wait to meet him." She started to ask a billion questions at once not letting Charlotte answer.

Charlotte laughed when Elizabeth finally stopped asking questions. "If you would let me tell you I will tell you about him.

"Sorry. Go on."

"Well I don't want you to get upset."

She raised an eyebrow. "Why would I get upset? Whoever you end up with, I'll be happy."

Charlotte glanced over at everyone surrounding them and took a big gulp of coffee. Elizabeth flinched. How could she drink that when the coffee was still extremely hot?  
"I'm with William."

She crossed her arms and gave Charlotte a confused look. "Who?"

"William Collins."

Why was Charlotte acting like she would know this man? She didn't know any William. Well maybe a Fitzwilliam. She shook her head to get him out of her mind. As she took another sip of coffee she nearly spit it out as remembered who William Collins was.  
"Oh my god. Are you serious?"

Charlotte frowned and started to play with her now empty cup. "I knew you would get like this."

"But why? There is someone better out there for you."

"I'm thirty-five. I'm getting old."

"I know a lot of single people who are your age."

It was no use. No matter how many comments she told, Charlotte would not back down.

As much as she didn't want to, she promised Charlotte she would meet her and Collins for dinner. When she went to bed that night she was afraid to sleep. Afraid to know what kind of nightmare she could have knowing Collins would be in her circle of friends. Well she couldn't let it happen. She would have to find a way to show Charlotte that Collins was the wrong person.

The dinner was not a success. Everytime she would give a smart aleck remark to Collins, Charlotte would shake her head. She was waiting for Charlotte to point her finger to the corner and give her a time out. She hoped in time her plan of breaking them up would work but after two weeks Charlotte did the unthinkable.

Elizabeth was enjoying her macaroni and cheese while she watched the newest version of Wuthering Heights. The phone started to ring but it was out of reach. She reached her arm out as far as she could but it was no use. She would have to get up and grab it. Well there was no way that was going to happen. She was too comfortable in her spot. She leaned back into the couch cushion and continued to eat her dinner. The answer machine picked up.

"Hi Lizzy, you are not going to believe what William and I did today." She thought she was going to lose her dinner if she had to hear what they did. "We went to city hall and elope." Her eyes became wide and the bowl of macaroni and cheese fell to the floor. She started to choke on her food. Due to Jane not being home she had to hit herself a few times to get the food out. She held onto the coffee table in front of her as she caught her breathe from the choking.

She ran to the phone and hit the speed dial to return Charlotte's call. The moment she answered, Elizabeth started to speak a mile a minute.  
"Are you freaking serious? Why? Was this his doing? Do you know how insane that is?"

There was a pause after she asked the questions to Charlotte. Finally Charlotte spoke. "I knew you would be upset. I really wanted you to be there but I knew you would find a way to stop us and I couldn't let that happen."  
"But the two of you only have been dating what two weeks?"

She didn't answer Elizabeth's question. "There is another thing."  
Elizabeth found herself sitting down. She had a feeling it would be bad news. She put a hand to her mouth. What if Charlotte was pregnant with Collins baby? The thought made her gag a little. "What's the news?"

"I'm moving to Kent to be with William."

She sat straight up. "Why? You love living here."

"I do but I want to move to Kent. I feel it's for the best. He got a job working at the local church."

It was no use. It was too late for Charlotte. "I love you and support whatever decision you make."

There was another moment of silence. She wondered if Charlotte was debating if she believed Elizabeth or not. After a minute Charlotte talked. "I'm glad and the moment you get a chance. I want you to come down and visit us."

How could she say no to Charlotte? "I would love that. Just tell me when and I swear I'll be there."

She hung up the phone with Charlotte and couldn't get back into Wuthering Heights. First Darcy comes into her life and for awhile she thinks George is the one. Next Jane deserts hers thanks to Bingley and she can't get Darcy out of her head no matter what she does. Now Charlotte was leaving her. What would that leave Elizabeth?


	11. Chapter 11

Two weeks past and Jane was finally back home. Elizabeth and Jane only spent a day together before Elizabeth had to start packing and leave for her trip to see Charlotte in Kent.

"I'm having déjà vu except it's you who's packing." Jane said as she handed Elizabeth a sweater.

"Are you sure you don't want to come? I know Charlotte would love to see you."

"Thanks for the offer but I've missed so much work already."  
Elizabeth sat down on the bed next to her suitcase. "How are you really doing?"  
A sigh came from Jane. "I'm doing okay. I did see his sister."

"Are you serious? How did that go?"

Jane nodded and started to play with a split end on her hair. "I did. She acted like everything was fine and couldn't wait to meet up."  
"That's good I think." She had a feeling it wasn't.

"That's what I thought too. We met a couple times and I kept waiting to run into Charles. I pictured it in my head but I never even saw him despite the fact Caroline said he was in town."

If it wasn't for the billion clothing and suitcases between them she would hug her best friend. "I wish there was something I could do. Do you want me to find Caroline and teach her a lesson?"

That got a laugh out of Jane. "Nah. I'll be fine. I knew I would have to come back home and move on. Besides it looks like I'll be busy."

"Oh yeah about that, I'm sorry."

"No problem. Cleaning will take my mind off things."

"Good." Not only had Elizabeth been lazy lately but she stopped doing chores. Jane came home to a very messy apartment.

"I can help clean before I leave."

"Nah, go and have fun. There is obviously something going on in that mind of yours that you're not telling and when you get back we are going to sit and talk about it."

Elizabeth sighed, "I can't wait."

Four hours later she arrived to Charlotte's new home. She had to admit it looked really nice. She kept picturing a dungeon where Collins was keeping Charlotte prisoner. Before she got out of the car Charlotte came to greet her.  
"I'm so glad you're here." The two hugged hello. After their hellos, she went to her trunk to grab her suitcases. Charlotte laughed at her when she started to pull them out. "How long do you plan on staying here?"  
"Hey you never know what I might need." She almost fell over as she picked up the heaviest one out of the car. At least this one was on wheels. "Where is Collins today?"  
Charlotte took a suitcase from her. "He's in the back working on the garden."

"Sounds like a lot of fun."

"He does love his garden. So I was thinking we could just hang out tonight and than tomorrow for lunch we'll go to visit Catherine De Bourgh."

"She sounds rich. Is this the woman Collins was talking about nonstop?"

Charlotte opened the front door and let her in. "Yup and she is also Darcy's Aunt."

She had no clue what came over her. She let go of the handle on the suitcase that she pulled up on the step of the door. It fell right on top of her foot. She swore as it hit her. She lifted it off her foot.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." No she wasn't. How could she not remember that Darcy's Aunt was this woman who happened to live in Kent? Well at least Darcy didn't live in the area but than she wondered if he visited his Aunt often? "Does Darcy visit here often?"

Charlotte raised her right eyebrow. "Since when do you care about Darcy?"

She looked down at the floor. "I was just curious."

"Sure you are. If he does I haven't seen him."

She let out of a sigh of relief and Charlotte shook her head and smiled.

The next day Charlotte, Collins, and Elizabeth were on their way to have lunch with Catherine De Bourgh. Elizabeth practically jumped out of the car before it had come to a complete stop. The whole morning and car ride over Collins kept going on and on about how she should act in front of this Catherine De Bourgh.

Collins was doing his last minute lecture when the front door opened. They were greeted by a butler. They were sent to a room and were told the madam would be joining them shortly. Elizabeth was starting to grow impatient. She just wanted to meet this woman and get lunch over with. She was about to slap Collins for telling her to sit straight when Catherine De Bourgh was announced in the room.

The introductions were made and she felt like she should bow. "Madam this is Elizabeth Bennet."  
"It's nice to meet you Ms. De Bourgh."  
"Yes, nice to meet you Miss. Bennet."

Elizabeth wondered if her hand was dirty. De Bourgh ripped her hand out of Elizabeth's grasp quickly after they shook hands. Instantly she could see where Darcy got his attitude problem.

"Please sit down."

She sat herself down next to Charlotte. She played with the armrest while Collins and De Bourgh chatted. She jumped when the butler came up behind her. "They're here Madam."

De Bourgh stood up. "Thank you James."

Collins followed De Bourgh. "Shall we?" De Bourgh nodded. "We shall."  
As they walked towards the dining room Elizabeth asked where the bathroom was. The butler showed her the way and she left the group.

It took her forever but she found the dining room when she returned to everyone. Collins got up and showed her where to sit. She thanked Collins and sat down.

"Miss Bennet I would like you to meet my nephews." De Bourgh pointed to Elizabeth's left side. She didn't even look to see who she was sitting next to. When she turned to say hello she nearly fell out of her chair when she saw Darcy sitting next to her.

****************

**I didn't introduce Anne because I couldn't figure out where to put her. She might still make an appearance. Haven't decided yet.**


	12. Chapter 12

Darcy grabbed Elizabeth's chair as it started to fall backwards. "Are you okay?"

She looked at him and nodded. "I'm good." He raised his eyebrow at her. The two started to stare at each other. De Bourgh interrupted their stare. "As I was saying Miss Bennet this is my nephew." Before she could finish Darcy interrupted his Aunt.  
"We actually have met already. I got to know her when I was staying with Charles."

"Oh is that so?"

"Yes Aunt Catherine."  
Elizabeth looked down at the food she had sitting in front of her. She was no longer hungry. Her stomach was filled with butterflies. She took her glass of water and took a big gulp. She turned to Darcy. "How have you been?"

"I've been good."

Things were starting to feel awkward. For the rest of the dinner De Bourgh kept asking her questions making her want to shrink in her chair. Like it was her fault she was single and working at a bookstore. Who cared if she wasn't this Anne that his Aunt kept mentioning but yet Elizabeth did care. She felt a little jealous of this Anne. The woman was the daughter of a close friend of the De Bourgh's. There were huge plans for Darcy and Anne to be married and the combination of the family companies.

When the last plate was taken away she let out a sigh of relief. The dinner was over. She, Collins, and Charlotte could leave. Everyone started to get up from the table. She and Darcy collided with each other as they stood up from their chairs. Her face hit his chest. His hands went on top of her shoulders and gently pushed her back. "Sorry about that."

Her pink face looked away and backed to him. She smiled. "Not a problem. I probably should have gotten out of my seat in the other direction."

He laughed and moved aside to let her pass. She noticed De Bourgh glaring at her as she walked out of the dining room. She thought they were going to be heading to the foyer but she noticed everyone moving to another room. This was going to be the night that never ended.

She jumped when De Bourgh came up behind her. "So Miss Bennet do you play piano or anything?"  
"Me? No."

"What a shame. I have a grand piano that doesn't get played much anymore since Darcy's sister went back to school."

"What's a shame?" She looked towards the room's entrance to see Darcy entering. She couldn't help but notice how he made an entrance. She was reminded of a movie where the man would walk into a room and everyone would stop and just be amazed at his beauty. De Bourgh went over to Darcy and took him aside.

"Is everything okay?" She turned to face Charlotte who had walked over to her.

"Yeah, I'm great."

Elizabeth woke up with a headache the next morning. When she came back to Charlotte's the two of them took out the wine and had a little too much to drink. She turned on her side and saw two empty bottles. Yup they definitely had too much to drink.

She got up and headed to the kitchen and found Charlotte. "I can't

believe we had that much."

"We?"

"Yea, I saw the bottles on the table."  
Charlotte handed her some Advil and a small glass of water. "Hate to

break it to you but that was all you."  
"What? Shut up."

"True story, thought I was going to have to take you to the hospital."  
She swallowed the pills. "Why would I drink that much and why did you let me?"

"Well guessing by the more you got drunk. I would say Darcy. And I did try to make you stop but you kept reaching for the bottle."

The glass still in her hand almost came out of her grasp. "What do you mean?"

"All I heard last night was; Darcy this, Darcy that."

She had no clue what to say to that.

Since Charlotte and Collins were at work, Elizabeth decided to find a nearby park and walk around. She started down a hill when she heard his voice. When he called her name she slipped on a stick. She gave a little growl. She really had to stop embarrassing herself in front of him.

She got up and dusted off the dirt and leaves from her jeans. "Hi."

"How are you?"  
"Good." He caught up with her by taking two long steps. "I didn't know you liked to walk." She turned her head to look at him and saw him smile back at her. "Every once in awhile I do."

"Cool." She started to kick the leaves around her feet as they walked. "So your Aunt seems nice."

"Yeah she is. She's helped me out a lot."

She looked up at him and smiled. They bumped into each as he avoided walking into a tree. She could smell Polo Sport on him. "Why are you here? I thought you would be with Charles."

He nodded. "I was for a little bit but wanted to visit my Aunt."

"Ah. You know I found it a bit odd for Charles to leave so suddenly. He seemed so at home. Do you know why he left so quickly?"  
Darcy quickly changed the subject. "Are you staying long?"  
"Just for the week than I have to get back to the store."

They came to the end of the hiking trail. "Well maybe if you aren't busy, you would want to meet for coffee tonight."  
"I can't."

She saw a frown come on his face. "Oh."

She gave a little laugh. He raised an eyebrow at her. "We have dinner again at your Aunt's. I believe we are meeting the famous Anne tonight."

"I guess I'll see you there." He smiled at her. He started to say good-bye. She stopped him. "Hey, you never answered my question about Charles."  
"Oh, he –" His cell phone started to ring. He went to answer it and waved good-bye to her. She couldn't help but notice how quickly he ran off.


	13. Chapter 13

Darcy sat in his car staring at his Aunt Catherine's house. All he had to do was go inside and enjoy dinner. But how could he enjoy it when he knew Elizabeth was already in there. He wanted to see her but also at the same time wanted to avoid her. She asked him twice about Charles the last time they saw each other. He had a feeling deep down she would ask again. There was no way he could tell her the truth.

"What are you waiting for?"

Darcy shook his head and looked over at his cousin Will who was sitting in the passenger seat.

"Sorry was just thinking of something."  
"Anne?"  
He raised an eyebrow to Will. "What?"  
Will nodded his head to the car on their left. Anne's car was right next to theirs. He was so caught up on thinking about Elizabeth he didn't even see Anne's when he pulled up the driveway. Great, just what he needed.

"What is she doing here?"

Will chuckled. "I thought you liked Anne?"

"Not like that."  
"Well you better. Aunt Catherine has plans for you."

Darcy let out a sigh. "Don't remind me."

"What's wrong with her? She's hot."

"There is more than hotness when it comes to a woman."  
Darcy didn't wait for Will's reply. He got out of the car. Will joined him and the two went to the front door. As he opened the door he heard laughter coming from the living room. There was no mistake on that laugh. The annoying laugh was Anne.

Elizabeth was sitting on the couch sitting crossed legged and shaking her foot. Lord, this Anne was so annoying. She was reminded of Beaker from the Muppets. She looked up at everyone when everyone stopped talking. She turned to see what they were staring at. Darcy and some man came into the room. She couldn't help but notice the similarity between Darcy and this man. Did he have a brother?

Darcy and the man went over to Darcy's Aunt. She went back to shaking her foot and started to stare at the ground when Catherine De Bourgh said her name. She felt all eyes on her as she looked up at De Bourgh. "Yes?"  
"I would like you to meet my nephew, Colonel Fitzwilliam."

Her eyes went wide. This had to be a joke, two cousins with the same name? Okay, maybe it's not uncommon but with a name like Fitzwilliam?

This Fitzwilliam gave her his hand. "People call me Will."

She took his hand, "nice to meet you Will."

They let go and she found herself staring at Darcy who was staring back. He quickly looked away after a second.

"Come over here nephew. Anne has some great news."  
She watched Darcy walked over to Anne. What could Darcy see in her? She was way too skinny and looked like a ghost. Will invaded her thoughts.  
"So you know my cousin?"

"I do."  
"And is my cousin still the same stubborn man?"

She gave a laugh. "He can be. So you are a colonel with?"

"I'm in the Air Force."

"That's cool."  
She didn't have to know Darcy was behind her. She could feel his breathe on her in seconds.

"What's cool?"  
"Oh I was just telling Elizabeth here about being in the Air Force."

"Ah."

Will crossed his arms and focused on Darcy. "So I hear you are still stubborn? Things never change huh?"

"Ha-ha." Darcy rolled his eyes which got a chuckle out of Will.

"What are we laughing about?" All three looked at De Bourgh.

"Oh nothing at all," Will said heading over to his Aunt.

"Your cousin seems like a nice guy."

Darcy nodded. The one thing he was hoping to avoid was not going to be avoided. He knew it as soon as Elizabeth opened her mouth to speak. "So we never finished our conversation from the other day."

He tried to play dumb. "Oh?"

Elizabeth looked at their surroundings and crossed her arms. "Yeah, so what's up with Bingley? Why did he leave like that?"

He kept his gaze on Elizabeth afraid to look away. If he didn't look right into her eyes she would definitely know something was up. "I don't know what you mean."

She tilted her head at him. "Oh come on. I thought you two were close? Why would Bingley do something that is out of his character and just leave like that?"  
"You haven't known Charles as long as me, he had his reasons. What they are? I don't know."  
She stood there staring as if she was trying to read his mind. "Still, I thought good friends knew everything."

Great she didn't believe him. He was saved from getting asked more questions. Dinner was ready.

"Shall we?" He reached out his arm and pointed to the dining room. She nodded her head. He had no clue what came over him but he placed his hand on her back. He felt a shiver go through her body at his touch. He didn't let go until they entered the room. They were the last ones in and both had no choice but to sit next to each other at the table. There was an awkward silence between the two during dinner. Elizabeth talked to her friend Charlotte and Darcy talked to Will. Both refused to look at the other.

Two hours later Elizabeth, Charlotte, and Collins were out the door. He found himself approaching Elizabeth as she waited for the marry couple to leave. "So will I get to see you again?"

She looked down and back up at him. "Yeah, um maybe you will."

He placed his hand on her shoulder. "Good I'll be looking forward to it."

Will came over to say good-bye and before Darcy knew it she was gone.

Darcy closed the door behind him; he jumped at Will's voice, "so Elizabeth and you huh?"

"What do you mean?"  
Will laughed. "Oh come on. The way the two of you stared at each other it reminded me of two teenagers in love."

"We're not in love."

"Not yet."

***********

**Up next: The confrontation........Darcy better watch what he says.......**


	14. Chapter 14

**Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out. Will try to get the next one out sooner. **

Elizabeth was walking out of the coffeehouse when she ran into Will. Her coffee was inches away from spilling onto her white shirt.

"Oops, sorry about that Elizabeth, I didn't see you."

She smiled up at Will. "No problem."

"Where are you off to?"  
"Just back to the Collins and probably read for awhile until they get back."

Will started to open the door to the coffee house. "Nah, come back inside and have coffee with me."

Elizabeth agreed. She followed Will back inside. She found them a table while he got his coffee. Will seemed like a nice guy but she couldn't help think he wasn't Darcy.

Will joined her. She had to move her chair so he could make room for his long legs. "So how are you?"  
"I'm good."

The two started to talk about work, family, friends, and so on. All was going well until Will asked about Jane.

Will took a sip of his coffee. "You and Darcy met at Bingley's right?"

She nodded her head. "Yup, we did."  
"Did you meet the girl Bingley was dating?"

She raised her eyebrow at Will. Where was this leading? "Yeah, I did." She left out the fact that Jane was her best friend and roommate.

"Did you know her well? I can't believe Bingley would go for this woman."  
Elizabeth held onto her cup nearly squeezing it when all she really wanted to do was throw it in Will's face. She had to keep telling herself he was just the messenger. He never met Jane so he had to hear about her from one person. She had a feeling she knew who this person was.

Taking a big gulp of her coffee and ignoring the hot drink as it went down her throat she asked Will how he found out about her.

"Oh Darcy was telling me about her and how he had to stop it. Can you imagine someone like Bingley marrying a woman like her?"

"Was it her family or money?"

He shook his head. "I don't know about her family but I know her friends were apart of it."

She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. This should be good.

He went into detail about Lydia, Kitty, and the nerve, her mother. Okay her own mother got on her own nerves sometimes but what did that have to do with Jane? She found it odd though; he didn't mention that he knew the mother was hers. In fact, he hadn't even mentioned her. Why didn't Darcy tell him that Jane and she were as close as could be? They were like sisters after all. It didn't matter anyways. Just when she thought she could like Darcy he goes and pulls a stunt like that. Oh, the next time she saw him.

"Elizabeth?"

Elizabeth forgot about Will. "Oh, sorry about that, I guess I was in my own little world."

"Not a problem. Are you sure you're okay though? I swear your face went completely red for a minute there."  
"Yeah, look I have to go."

She didn't even say good-bye. She got up and left.

Five hours later she was sitting on the front porch reading her book waiting for Charlotte to get back. She didn't even know what she was reading because all she could see was Darcy in her head and he being the jerk, George claimed he was. She could definitely see it now.

She set her book down on the table next to her chair when she saw headlights coming towards the house. Finally Charlotte was back. She stopped on the last step of the porch when she saw the car. It was Darcy.

Darcy got out of his car and noticed Elizabeth standing on the step. He came here on a mission. He was going to ask her on a date.

He couldn't help notice how her eyes were glaring at him. He was afraid to get to close to her.

"Hello Elizabeth."  
"Hi."

All of a sudden he wanted to run back to his car and drive away. "How are you this evening?"  
"I'm fine."

Okay she wasn't going to make this easy for him. "What are you doing this Saturday? I was thinking maybe we could go out to dinner and if you want, maybe a movie?"

Was that a laugh coming from her? "No, I don't think so. Not on your life. Not after what you said about Jane."

"Excuse me?" He crossed his arms and stared at her straight in the eyes. She backed up a step and the two were now at eye level.

"You heard me. Why would you tell Will about Jane? Hell, what right do you have to interfere with Charles and Jane. They were in love."

Darcy gave a little laugh. "Oh come on. Jane didn't show any type of love towards him."  
She rolled her eyes at him. "That's because she's shy."

He couldn't say anything. He never thought of that. He just assumed the way she ignored him and talked with other guys that she wasn't interested. How was he supposed to know? He was looking out for his friend.

"George was right about you."  
"Excuse me?"

She stepped down a step and was again looking up at him. He also had moved closer to her. They were inches apart. "He told me how he was in love with your sister and you ripped them apart. He couldn't help it if his dad was your help. I thought you were more than that. I really thought under all that tough skin of yours, was a nice guy."

"Wickham told you about this relationship, my sister and he had going?"

"Yes."

"And you are willingly to be understanding to a guy like him and not me?"

"Yes cause George might not be perfect when it comes to relationships but at least he has a heart."

"Well I guess the answer is still no."

"No?"

Darcy backed away, "the two of us going on a date."

She stayed on her step. "Yeah, I guess so."

Both of them looked at each other for a minute before Darcy shook his head and walked back to his car.

Elizabeth watched him leave. How could this happen? Just this morning she thought of Darcy as maybe a good guy despite what George had said. And here just a minute ago she was sticking up for George when she had seen him that one night with another woman. She fell to the step and put her hands through her hair. She wondered if it was too late to talk to Darcy and ask him to give her another chance.

**************  
**I've been thinking about doing another modern tale of Jane Austen after this one. I'm torn between Northanger Abbey and maybe Persuasion. Tough decisions....**


	15. Chapter 15

Elizabeth couldn't stop thinking about Darcy and their argument. She knew it shouldn't brother her since it wasn't like Darcy and her were exactly close friends or even lovers but every time she closed her eyes, his eyes haunted her. She remembered seeing anger and yet there was hurt in his eyes.

All morning she kept hitting redial and tried to get a hold of Jane but there was no answer. It was useless to talk to Charlotte about Darcy when Collins was breathing down their backs whenever they were together.

She was getting ready to sit down with a mug of coffee when the doorbell rung. Sighing she got up and went to the front door. She froze when she looked into the peep hole. Standing on the other side of the door was Darcy. Her hand landed on the doorknob and her fingers tighten around the knob. Should she open it? Maybe she could act like she wasn't home.

"I know you're in there Elizabeth."

She jumped at his voice. Taking a deep breathe and almost forgetting to breathe she opened the door. She regretted it when Darcy looked her up and down. She was wearing Care Bear pj pants and a tank top that said, Kiss me I'm Irish. Her hair was in a messy ponytail.

"I wanted to give you this." He handed her an envelope. As their fingers touched, they lingered for a moment. She felt heat go throughout her body.

"What's this?"

"Just read it." With that, he turned around and walked down the porch and headed to his car. As he was doing so, she was feeling a major case of déjà vu.

She headed back to her coffee and opened the envelope. There was a letter inside.

Dear Elizabeth,  
Normally I don't find the need to explain myself but in this case I find it necessary. It is no secret that my sister and Wickham dated. Yes everyone knew how I felt about the two as an item but they didn't see the Wickham that I came to know. I also don't know what exactly he told you about our past and in this letter you will hear my side of the story.

As children Wickham and I were good friends. It never brother me his family was our help. We decided to room together when we entered college. At first we had our fun. Both of us were aiming to be in a frat and so on. We were just your two typical college guys.

A few months of college and I noticed the change in Wickham. The late nights, the bad grades, and there was the loss of money. I knew he was on a scholarship and he worked as a waiter but the amount of money he was losing, came to a shock.

There had been talk of my father leaving money for Wickham in his will but for unknown reasons, there never was any left for him. Any inheritance went straight to me or my sister.

By the end of our first year of college, Wickham dropped out and disappeared for awhile. It would be five years when he would enter the Darcy household again.

He gave everyone this sob story of being mugged or beaten up. I could see right through him right at the beginning. After doing some research and getting a hold of people I discovered he had gambled his money away and was in a large debt. There were men after him.

Before I knew it, he was flirting with my sister and claiming his love for her. I could not stand by and watch him hurt my sister. He never had shown interest in her when we were younger. It was announced my sister and Wickham had talked about engagement. In fear that he would break her heart and run off with her inheritance I put a stop to the engagement.

It broke my heart to see my sister suffer and I know she was able to forgive me even if it took time. I have never told her about Wickham and not sure if I ever will.

I know I can't prevent you from being friends or whatever with Wickham but I hope after this, you will concern what I mentioned and be careful with him. I would never want to see you hurt.

Also to explain Charles, I find myself regretting what I've done and I know I can't take it back if I in any way prevented Jane and Charles from moving forward. Again, I ask for your forgiveness.

Not sure if our paths will meet again but if they do, I hope we'll be in good terms.

Sincerely,

Fitzwilliam Darcy

Elizabeth read the letter over and over. Her hands would not stop shaking. She knew George was not the perfect guy but he never seemed to be the guy who would take a woman's inheritance. If this was true about George, she felt bad for Darcy. She could never let her sisters date a man like that.

She reached for her cell that was sitting on the counter nearby. Her fingers refused to move, she told them to move finally and they did. Before she knew it, she was calling Darcy. There was no answer. She hung up when the voicemail picked up.

The front door opened and she looked up to see Charlotte. "Hey Lizzy, miss me?"

Elizabeth cracked a small smile. Charlotte put their dinner on the table. "What's wrong?"

Elizabeth opened the bag. "What makes you think something is wrong?"

Charlotte rolled her eyes. "I know you."

Stuffing a fry in her mouth, Elizabeth told Charlotte about Darcy, George, and the letter.

Charlotte sat across from her and kept making hmm sounds.

"So what do you think I should do?"

Charlotte gave another hmm sound. "Well all I can think of is, going with your heart."

That was a problem for Elizabeth. She had no clue what her heart was telling her.


	16. Chapter 16

**Sorry it took so long to get this out. We don't see Darcy's point of view really in Pride & Prejudice. So I thought I would add this part in. I guess it's kind of a filler :). **

Darcy was sitting on Will's couch flipping the channels. He still couldn't believe he wrote Elizabeth the letter. When he got home that night he couldn't stop thinking about her. All he could do was pace back and forth. He had to tell her his side. There was no way he could leave things like they were. Instead of going to his email he sat down at the desk and pulled out paper. He tapped his pen for an hour before he could figure out what to write.

He wondered what she was thinking about at this moment. It was eight hours ago he dropped off the letter. He really should be packing to return home but he kept hoping she would call or maybe stop by. He eyed the phone. "Ring, come on ring."

"So we talk to ourselves now?" He turned to see Will enter the room.  
"Funny, I'm really laughing."

Will sat down on the couch next to him and grabbed the remote from him. "Since when do you watch chick flicks?" Darcy turned to the TV and sighed. "You know those couples have it so easy."

Will turned off the TV and turned to Darcy. "Okay who are you and what did you do with my cousin?"

"I wrote Elizabeth a letter."

"Okay. You couldn't just call her?"

"I wanted to explain myself."

Will stood up. "Do we need to get the beer out?" Will headed towards the kitchen with Darcy following behind him. He took the beer from Will. "So did you tell Elizabeth how you felt?"

"I told her my side of the story." Darcy told Will what he said in the letter. He noticed Will looking away as if he was guilty of something. "Sorry about telling her. I didn't realize that the girl who Charles had a thing for was her friend."

Darcy shook his head. "It's not your fault. I shouldn't have gotten in the middle of Charles and Jane. Speaking of which, I need to talk to him."  
He threw his bottle into the recycling bin and headed to the guest room. "I have to finish packing. I'll call him on my way home."

After talking with Charlotte and reading the letter a million times, Elizabeth only had one thing on her mind. She had to talk to Darcy. She wanted to know more.

Mainly though she wanted to tell him how sorry she was.

She didn't see his car in Will's driveway and thought maybe he was visiting his Aunt. She sat in the car debating about going over there. All she needed was De Bourgh giving her the evil eye or criticizing her for something. She went to put the car in reverse when she saw the door open. Will was standing there. He waved her in. There really wasn't any time for this but she turned off the car and headed inside.

She looked at her surroundings when she walked into the house wondering if Darcy would jump out at her.

"He's not here."

She jumped anyways. She turned to face Will. "Oh? And how do you know I was here for him? Maybe I was here for you."

He smiled down at her. "That's sweet but I know why you're here."

"So will he be back soon?"  
He shook his head. "He's heading back home to Pemberly tonight."

She frowned. She blew it. Now he'll never know how sorry she was.

"Did you want to stay for coffee or anything?"

No, she really just wanted to go home and find some Ben and Jerry. She placed a smile on her face. "Thanks but I think I'm going to head back to the Collins.  
He placed his hand on her shoulder and squeezed it. "No problem. I understand. How much longer will you be staying at the Collins?"

"I leave in a couple days."  
"I hope you keep in touch." He surprised her by giving her a hug.

"Thanks. I would like that." She smiled one more time and headed towards the front door. Before she stepped out she turned to Will. "Hey Will. Can you do me a favor?"  
"Sure, what's your favor?"

"Can you maybe tell Darcy I said hi?"

He smiled and nodded. "I can do that.

They said their good-byes. She really hoped she would get to see Will again. If she did, that meant she would see Darcy again. At least that's what she was hoping for.

First thing first, she was going to go home and confront George.

"So do you think I should go to Jane's? What about right now?"

Darcy laughed. "Yeah, its ten o'clock at night and it would take you two hours to get there. I'm sure Jane would love company at midnight."  
A sigh came from Charles. "Well I want to see her before its too late."  
"Just go in the morning. I promise you, she'll still be there."

There was a moment of silence. "And how do you know this?"  
"Just trust me okay?"

Finally after much persuasion, Charles agreed to call him with the details about his reunion with Jane. Darcy closed his cell phone and set it on the passenger's seat. He felt a little better knowing Charles was going back to Jane and making things right.

Before leaving town he drove by the Collins. He had no clue what excuse he would use but he wanted to see Elizabeth one more time. When he drove by, no one was home. He waited in the driveway for fifteen mi

nutes before finally giving up.

Not like it mattered anyways. She would be going back home to her life and he was going back to his. He'll probably just become a memory to her. He had an idea though. If Charles stayed close to Jane that meant he would be near Elizabeth. That might just be worth a trip to visit Charles one day. He wanted to go right away but knew Charles would want some alone time with Jane. Maybe he would give Charles a week.

* * *

  
**COMING UP.......**

**Lydia does something to disappoint the family. Wonder what it could be :).**


	17. Chapter 17

Elizabeth let out a sigh as she stood in front of the apartment building. Now that she was home from Kent she could get back to her life. She could move on and try her best to forget Darcy. Yeah that wasn't going to happen. Jane and Charles approached her from behind. Charles wrapped his arms around Elizabeth and gave her a big bear hug. She raised her eyebrows towards Jane who just laughed.

Charles put his hands on her shoulders. "How are you Lizzy? I've missed you."

Elizabeth held in a laugh. "I'm good and yourself?'

"Great now that I found my Jane again."

Jane wrapped her arm around his waist. Elizabeth held in the urge to stick her finger in her mouth and make a gag sound. Jane next put her other arm around Elizabeth. "Let's go upstairs and catch up."

She was starting to feel like the third wheel and she only had been home for an hour. She tried to excuse herself to go unpack but both Jane and Charles dragged her into the living room to discuss their reunion. After awhile it seemed that the two of them forgot about Elizabeth, especially when sitting across from her they started to laugh and touch each other than the next minute their lips were touching.

She couldn't take it any longer so she snuck out and went to unpack her stuff. She grabbed her cell out of her purse when she heard it beeped. Her eyes went wide and her hand holding the cell started to shake. Could this be Darcy? Maybe he was calling to see her. Before looking at the screen she closed her eyes and held her breathe to see who the missed call was. She opened them and frowned. Letting out a small growl she tossed her cell on her bed. It was only George.

She avoided George for two days but was out of luck when she went to take the trash out of the apartment. As she was coming from the side of the building to go back inside George came out of nowhere.

"Why haven't you been answering my calls?"

"I've been busy."

"Doing what?"  
She placed her hand on the handle of the front door but George placed his hand on top of hers.

"What do you want George?"

"Look I know I've been an idiot but those girls were nothing."

She arched her eyebrow up to him. It was hard to see the expression on his face with the sun shining on it. She wished she could see if he was being sincere.

"Look it doesn't matter about the girls. What's done is done."

George moved his hand off her hand and started to go up her arm. She started to get chills throughout her arm as he went up. She stepped away from him but it was no use. He stepped closer to her.

"I learned some stuff on vacation. I'm a new person."

He gave a chuckle. "What kind of stuff could you have learned? Didn't you stay with the Collins?"  
"If you knew me well enough, you would know Charlotte is a good friend of mine."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean." He put his arms on her shoulders and pulled her closer. She looked down at his huge feet and back up to him.  
"I can't do this. Please go home."

He frowned at her and shook his head. Without saying anything she watched him walk back to his car.

A week passed and Elizabeth couldn't get out of her funk. Jane and Charles kept asking her what was wrong but she just said she was tired and had a headache. From Jane's arched eyebrows she knew Jane didn't believe her. Jane was so happy right now she didn't want to ruin it. When the time was right, she would tell Jane.

She had big plans for her Saturday night. There was a date with popcorn and the TV. It was the perfect date for a single woman. The TV could do no wrong. She was settling in with Bridget Jones when her phone rung. Seeing it was only Lydia she let the machine pick up.

"I know you're home. I'm waiting in my car. Come out with me and some friends. I'm giving you ten minutes to get your butt out here."

Did Lydia really think a night out with teenagers was what she wanted to do? She was a few minutes in the movie when she heard the name, Darcy. She grabbed the remote and turned off the TV like it was poison. How could she forget that the male lead had the last name Darcy?

She walked over to the window and saw Lydia's car in the parking lot. Lydia must have seen her. Lydia stepped out of the car and yelled up at her. "Come on Lizzy!"

She glanced at the nearby mirror. Even though they were teenagers she still wanted to look better than what she did now.

Ten minutes later she was outside the door. Her eyes went wide as the person on the passengers side got out to let her in. "What are you doing here?"

"I ran into Lydia and I couldn't refuse her. Besides I'm sure we'll have fun."

He winked at her. She cringed at the wink.

"You do realize you're hanging out with eighteen year olds."

"And so are you. Come on!"

George held the door for her. He put his hand on her arm to help her inside. She pulled her hand out of his grasp. If this was an attempt to get closer to her, he had a lot of work to do.

Elizabeth smiled at Kitty who was sitting in the backside with her. She looked

at Lydia in the rearview mirror who was checking her lipstick. "So what are we doing?"

"I thought we would go laser tagging. It's been so long."

"Great, can't wait." This might be the thing she needed. It might just relieve some stress and it was perfect. She could take all her revenge by hitting George with her gun. Laser tag was going to be a lot of fun tonight.

Lydia started the car and headed out of the parking lot. "Mom told me you were going to visit Aunt and Uncle."  
"Yeah, they need some help with the move."

They really didn't but if there was one person she could talk to, it was her Aunt.

George turned to face her. "Where do they live?"

"They live ten minutes outside of Pemberly."

"Oh? Darcy lives in Pemberly, you know."

She knew and prayed she would be able to avoid him. If she couldn't, who knew what she would do. Tell him, she was sorry? Say she couldn't stop thinking about him? Well if God was on her side, she wouldn't have to worry about him at all.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

Darcy stared at the blank screen. He was supposed to have a report in for work but all he could think about was her. It was more than a girl, it was a woman. She was invading his dreams. He would close his eyes and she would be right there.

It didn't help that Charles emailed him daily. There would be reports on her, Jane, and Charles doing this or doing that. He tried to imagine what it would be like if they did double dates. He felt he should be there. She couldn't enjoy being the third wheel. But what if she wasn't a third wheel? Maybe Charles left out a certain detail. There could be four people in the gatherings.

With that thought in mind, he opened up his email. There was a new message and it was from Charles. He took a deep breathe and hit open.

_Hey man, what's up? Jane and I were talking. You need to come and visit for a weekend. I have a couple girls in mind that you might like. Let me know. Sorry so short but I'm borrowing Lizzy's car while my car is in the shop and I need to get it back to her before she leaves town. Don't forget to let me know._

Okay so maybe Charles didn't lie about just the three of them. Maybe it was a good thing Charles didn't know how much he thought of Elizabeth. He could visit Charles. It would definitely give him a good excuse to see her. If she was going out of town this week, he would have to wait. He emailed Charles back and told him he would let him know.

Five hours later, Darcy was having dinner with his sister, Georgiana. He was playing with his food when Georgiana spoke up. "You can't stop thinking about her, can you?" He still continued to play with his food. "Darcy." There was still no answer. "Hello Fitzwilliam."

He looked up. "Oh sorry, what's up?"

She smiled. "You just answered my question."

"What question was that?"  
"Oh how you can't stop thinking about this Elizabeth woman."

He cracked a smile. "No, I can't."

"Why don't you just call her?"

He let out a sigh. "I was hoping she would do it. Maybe after the letter and the truth of Wickham, she would forget him and call me."

Georgiana shook her head. "Oh brother, when you will you learn."

"What?"

"Maybe she is waiting for your call. Did you ever think of that?"

He thought about it for a minute. Was it possible? "So should I call her?"

"Go for it."  
He nodded his head. "Okay, after dinner."

Georgiana got up from her chair. "No, do it now." His eyes widen at her. "Oh come on, your dinner is probably cold already. Just take the phone and call her."

He eyed the phone in her hand. It sounded like a good plan before but now that he might actually have to call her? He couldn't even think about that.

Georgiana pushed the phone in his hand and he continued to stare at it. "Oh come on. If you don't do it, I swear I'll call her."

He shook his head. "Fine, I'll do it."

He looked through his contacts and found her number. He looked up at his sister who was now standing there with her arms crossed. She nodded her head down to the phone. He let out another sigh and hit send. He listened to the phone ring five times before finally going into voicemail. That made him so happy.

"Hey it's me, Lizzy. I can't come to the phone, leave a message."

He hit end. His sister was still staring at him. "I wasn't sure what to say."

She smiled. "That's okay; she'll see you called on her phone."

Darcy thought to himself_. Crap, that's right_.

Across town, Elizabeth was sitting at dinner with her Aunt and Uncle, the Gardiner's. She turned her head at the vibration of her phone. Thinking it was George she picked it up and turned her phone off without confirming it was him. She was having a great time with her relatives and she didn't want to hear George's voice. It's too bad though she didn't remember to turn her cell back on that night. You never know who might just call you.

The following morning Darcy was on his way home from work when he decided he needed to go for a swim. Sometimes swimming helped him out with stress. Thinking five laps would be enough, he headed outside to the pool area.

On the way to the pool he ran into his housekeeper, Mrs. Reynolds. "Hello Mr. Darcy."

He laughed and shook his head. "Oh Mrs. Reynolds, when are you going to learn? Please call me Darcy. Mr. Darcy was my father."

"Maybe one day I will sir. What I wanted to ask you is if it's okay a good friend of mine visits with me for awhile. Her husband and niece are in town."  
"Sure, I don't see that being a problem."

"Great, I swear we won't be in your way."

"No worries. Let Jared know if you need anything. If you like you can show her around. I'll be doing some laps in the pool."  
He laughed inside his head as she gave a little bow. He loved Mrs. Reynolds like she was his own mother. If her friends were still here when he was done with his laps and shower he would make it a point to treat them to dinner. Any friend of his housekeeper would be a friend of hers.

Five laps later he wasn't prepared for what was waiting for him as soon as he got out of the pool. He was walking towards the house soaking wet when he saw her. Standing right across from him was Elizabeth.


	19. Chapter 19

Elizabeth needed air. She swore her heart stopped when she found out that Darcy lived here. According to the housekeeper he was busy so they would never see him. She was relieved but every turn or every corner she expected him to pop up from nowhere.

She told her Aunt and Uncle, she wanted to take a walk outside while they caught up with their friend. They didn't seem to mind. It was assumed Elizabeth would be bored with their catching up. Not wanting to hear about the old days. She let them assume that and went off on her way.

On the way outside she saw his portrait once more. He looked so beautiful in the picture. Just like any photo she swore the eyes were following her. She took one last look and quickly walked outside.

She was never prepared for what she saw next. He was standing in front of her dripping wet and sporting the abs that could make any girl want to melt. If she never sported a bright red face before, she definitely was now.

"Darcy?" He gave her a face with no expression. She wondered what he was thinking. Well she wasn't about to find out. "I'm sorry, I better get going. I think my Aunt and Uncle are ready for me."  
She turned and rushed to get back into the house. Before she opened the screen door she felt a cold hand on her shoulder. She turned her head to look at it. The fingers were gripping it tightly.  
"Wait a second Elizabeth."

Oh god he going to ask why she was here. Would he find it rude? She kept silent waiting for an answer.

"Are your relatives the close friends of Mrs. Reynolds?"

She still had to turn to face him. Her head went up and down. "They are. They're probably looking for me. I should go."  
"No, don't leave yet. Stay and talk to me."

Her eyes went wide. Was this really happening? She wanted to pinch herself. This had to be a dream. It just had to. She felt a squeeze on her shoulder. She did the turn. "So how's it going?"  
He flashed his teeth. "Good. I was thinking about you the other day."

"You were?" She stopped. Oh lord, she just squeaked. Now would be the time to die of embarrassment. He hardly noticed though. He smiled at her and kept talking.

"So do you like it here?"  
She nodded. "It's a nice place. I bet it was nice to grow up here."

He shrugged his shoulders. "It was okay. I went to a boarding school so I only really had summers here."

"Ah."  
What was she doing? This was so awkward. Could their sentences get any shorter? He moved towards a bench. "Why don't we sit?"  
"Sure, okay."

His hand that never left her shoulder moved to her hand. She loved the feeling of their fingers being connected, if only that could happen more often.

He pointed to the bench and she sat down. She hated he let go but at the same time she couldn't help but notice how close they sat next to each other. One little move and their legs would be touching.

Darcy spoke first. "So how is life? Is Charles annoying you yet?"

She laughed. "No. By the way, did you –"  
"There you are."

Darcy stood up so fast the bench almost knocked over. Elizabeth caught it from falling and looked up to see a blonde hair girl. Looking at this woman standing at the screen door talking to Darcy made Elizabeth feel so uneasy at the moment.

She had nothing on this woman. She was a toothpick and shiny blonde hair that was even shiner with the sun shining on it, and the nose was perfect. She touched her nose as she stared at the woman's nose.

The hand dropped the moment she realized both Darcy and the woman were staring at her. Darcy placed his hand on the woman's back and brought her over. "Elizabeth, I would like you to meet my baby sister, Georgiana."

A relief was lifted off her shoulders. "Oh, it's so nice to meet you." She gave her hand to his sister. They shook. She noticed Georgiana and Darcy had very similar smiles.

"So you're Elizabeth? I've heard so much about you. I feel like I know you already."

She laughed, "uh oh."  
Georgiana smiled and looped her arm around Darcy's. "Oh, it was all good stuff."

"I'm sure."

Darcy cut in. "It was." She smiled at his pink face. Who knew Darcy could blush?

"Brother, go inside and change. We'll wait for you."

Her eyes went wide. She was sure that Georgiana was a nice person but she feared that once he was gone, she would give her the, "mess with my brother, you mess with me speech."

If she could, she would risk embarrassment and take Darcy's hand and never let go. Instead she watched him smile at her and say, "I'll be right back."  
The moment he was gone, she held her breathe as Georgiana told her to join her for a walk around the trail in the woods by their mansion. All she could do was smile and say sure. Why not go where no one can hear them?  
They were in the woods when Georgiana spoke. "So you're Elizabeth huh?"  
She nodded. "Can you promise me something?' Georgiana stopped and placed herself on a rock.

Elizabeth nodded. Here we go. "Will you treat him right?"  
"Sure, he's a great guy."

"Good, because he really likes you and I want to see him happy for once. You should see his face when he talks about you. It's quite annoying." Georgiana laughed.

She had no clue what to say or do. He made a face when he talked about her? And she was laughing? This was definitely not what was expecting. Not that she was going to complain or anything.

The two had a nice walk and were greeted by Darcy, her relatives, and Mrs. Reynolds. "I hope you don't mind Elizabeth but I invited you along with your aunt and uncle to come to dinner."

She avoided looking at her aunt and uncle. "Sure, that would be great." The plans were made and she was off with her aunt and uncle.

"So that was Darcy huh?" She nodded, still afraid to look at her uncle. "Well, I guess that explains the drooling you were doing."

She looked up, "What? Oh my god! Was I really?"

Her uncle laughed at her. "Nah, I'm just teasing you." She wasn't finding that reassuring.

**Up next: The dinner and uh-oh, what is Lydia up to…. **


	20. Chapter 20

Elizabeth stood in front of her mirror. Why did she agree to dinner with Darcy? Sure other people would be there but to think, she would be eating at his house. Wait, not a house but a mansion. She laughed to herself. It wasn't even a mansion it was a museum. She was there once before but now she would truly have to act like a lady. She felt like she would have to behave and not mess up anything. She would just have to remember to act like she was at Charlotte's house. She loved Charlotte like a sister but the woman was a clean freak.

She took a long look at her outfit again. She had a light pink dress on. Was that a gut sticking out of her dress? She breathed in and out, a turn to the left and another turn to the right.

Her Aunt's reflection came into the mirror. "You're fine. " She turned to face her Aunt. "I don't know. Maybe I should just wear my black pants with that blue shirt."

A shake of the head came from her Aunt. "Not going to happen. You're beautiful and if he doesn't like you for you, you deserve better." She prayed her Aunt was right.

Darcy paced back and forth. They were five minutes late. As much as he wanted to see her, he wanted the night to end. He was nervous. He never felt this way towards a woman.

Georgiana was looking at the front window. "I see a car pulling up."

He stood up straight and made sure his clothing wasn't wrinkling. Georgiana looked at him and laughed. "What?"

She shook her head with a smile. "It's nothing. Now let's go to the family room and not stand by the window. We wouldn't want to look like we're anxious or anything." She said very sarcastically.  
"Ha-ha, very funny." The two went into the family room to wait for the doorbell to ring.

"What's taking so long?" Darcy asked pacing back and forth again.

"Relax."

Before Georgiana could tease any further, the long awaited doorbell rung. He froze and forgot what he was supposed to do. A push on the back came from Georgiana. "Answer the door."

He took a deep breathe and stood in front of the door. He looked at the doorknob before touching it as if it was going to bite him. A glance from his sister made him open the door. Standing in the middle of he relatives was Elizabeth. Again he forgot what to say as he looked at her. The pink dress she had on matched her pale skin. The layout of the dress fit her hips perfectly.

All three of them were still standing in front of the door as Darcy continued to stare. He was pushed aside by Georgiana. "Hello you three, so glad you could make it. Please come in." She waved her arm to allow them to enter.

Elizabeth stood staring at Darcy who was staring at her. She felt a hand on her elbow. She turned to see her uncle holding her elbow. He was smiling and his eyes were laughing. She blushed and turned to step inside. Her stomach did knots as she placed her foot in the door frame.

Georgiana walked past her aunt and uncle and came up to her. "It is so good to see you."

She smiled. "How are you?"

"I'm great." She gave Elizabeth a hug and returned to her aunt and uncle leaving Elizabeth standing there. She felt eyes on her. Remembering to breathe she turned to see Darcy. "H-h-hi," she said cursing herself after her stutter.

He stood up straight and folded his hands together. "Hi." He looked to his right and left. "I guess everyone is already in the dining room."

"Yeah, I guess so." She rocked back and forth on her two inch heels. "I guess we should go find them."

"I guess so." She walked up to him and the two walked off to the dining room together.

Dinner went extremely well. Everyone was getting along. Elizabeth hoped that things would go this well with her parents over a dinner. She was sure her father would be okay but her mother? With her luck her mom would go off on one of her stories about Elizabeth's past loves and Darcy would run away.

They had moved to the living room area for a cup of coffee when her cell vibrated. She hit ignore and went back to chatting with Georgiana. Five minutes later, it vibrated. The ignore key was hit again. And another five minutes later. She was getting very frustrated. Here she was having a good time and someone would not stop calling.

"I'm so sorry but someone keeps calling me."

Georgiana nodded and waved her hand. "No problem. I need to use the restroom anyways."

She smiled at Darcy's lovely sister and excused herself to everyone. She went to stand by the staircase outside of the living room. Home showed up on the missed calls list and there were two voicemails. She hoped Jane wasn't calling her about some date with Charles.

There was the first voicemail. "Lizzy, you need to call me this instant or if anything call your father." Why would she want to call her father? The second message, "Lizzy where are you? Call me back now!"

She let out a sigh. The first ring to the apartment didn't even finish. "Lizzy?"  
"Yeah, what's going on?"

"It's your sister."

"Oh god, what's wrong? Did Mary or Lydia get into a car accident?"

There was a pause. "No."

She felt her heart beat again. She noticed everyone in the living room was staring at her. "So what is it? Jane, I love you and I would go into detail about my evening but why is this important?"  
"Lydia and George are eloping."

Her hand fell to her side and the phone fell from her hand. Darcy came running up to her. "Elizabeth?"

She didn't say anything. She picked up the phone and continued to talk to Jane. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, call your father. You better get home."

They hung up and she sighed. Leave it to Lydia to ruin a good night. She took a deep breathe and went back to everyone with Darcy following her. "Sorry about that."

Her uncle came up to her. "What's wrong?"

"It's Lydia, she and George are eloping."

"You have to be joking. Who is this George?"

"I wish I was."

"There has to be more information than that." She handed her cell to her uncle who went into the other room. Her aunt followed leaving her with Darcy.

"Are you okay? Do you need to sit?" She nodded and Darcy led her to the couch. "I feel like this is my fault."

She shook her head. "It's not." If they should blame anyone, it should be George and when she got home, she was going to give him a piece of her mind. In the meantime all she could do was let Darcy put his arm around her shoulders and sink into his chest.

Darcy patted her hair and placed his chin on top of her head. There had to be something he could do. As he waited for her to relax and her aunt and uncle to come back, he had an idea forming in his head on dealing with George. He just hoped it would work.

*******************************************************************************************************************************************************************************  
**Sorry if this chapter seems rushed or not enough detail. Life has just been getting in the way lately and I felt bad for not posting sooner. I will try my best to get the next chapter up as soon as possible. On another note, I'm thinking about doing another Jane Austen story. I'm torn between Emma and Persuasion.**


	21. Chapter 21

Two days later Elizabeth was sitting in her parent's family room. Mary was on the couch with her. They were watching their mother go back and forth. She kept shouting at no one. "How could Lydia do this?" or "Lydia was supposed to have a fairy tale wedding." Elizabeth wanted to tell her mother she shouldn't be surprised. Look at how Lydia always flirted or went from men to men. This really shouldn't be a surprise but to go for a man like George Wickham?

When she got home she did her best to get a hold of George to give him a piece of her mind. He avoided all her calls. Well so be it. If he still hasn't returned her calls in a couple days she would go find him. There was only one problem. Her father couldn't even find them. They apparently didn't go far to elope but the location is still unknown. She never knew how many places there were for a person to elope.

"How could you let this happen?"

She was thinking of ways to get back at George that she didn't realize that her mother was talking to her. Mary hit her on the arm. She turned to Mary. "Huh?" Mary pointed to their mother.

"What did you say?"  
"How could you let this happen? If you had dated George this would never have happened."

Why wasn't she surprised she was getting blamed. Lydia could never do anything wrong; but her? She could never do anything right in her mother's eyes.

Crossing her arms and crossing her legs she looked up at her mother who was now standing there with her arms crossed staring down at Elizabeth. "So I'm supposed to date a jerk, a player?  
"I swear Elizabeth all you can think of –"  
She didn't let her mother finish that sentence. She got up from the couch and grabbed her purse. She couldn't stand this. She'll just have to wait to hear from her uncle or father from the safety of her own home.

When she got home twenty minutes later she was alone. She went right for the coffee maker and started to make coffee. If she wanted to think about what she could do to get back at George and knock some sense into Lydia she had to fully be awake.

As she was sipping her coffee she eyed a pack of photos. Not thinking she picked them up and almost threw her coffee onto the floor. Jane must have gotten the pictures printed. It was pictures from a party that the two of them went to. One that George was at. She had to put her coffee down and squeezed her fists together. It was very tempting to rip the pictures apart.

She laughed to herself as her eyes glanced on the dart board they kept in the family room. She wondered if Jane would be okay if she took one picture of George and threw it up on the dart board.

Before she could even think about doing it, she heard the front door open. Jane is home. She listens and yup; Charles with her. She stands up straight. She won't let the two of them annoy her today. Today she will be strong. Besides it almost doesn't brother her. Maybe it's because of the time she recently had with Darcy. She frowned as she thought about Darcy. Before she left him he insisted on helping her. He would do anything to make things right. That's great and everything but what about her and him. Couldn't he work on that? So what if they had to travel to see each other. Maybe he was worth it. She felt her eyes start to water. She turned away from the entrance of the kitchen and went to the sink and grabbed a glass above it.

She was still reaching for it when she heard footsteps come in. "Hey, I didn't know you would be here."

She cleared her face of any emotion and turned to face them. "I had to get away. You know how my mother is."

Jane didn't say anything. She knew exactly what Elizabeth was talking about. Charles kept quiet. She could tell he wanted to say something but he kept himself busy as he came up to her and got himself a glass. She hated that he made himself at home. If this was going to keep up she was going to have to find her own place. She moved so Charles could get the water out of the fridge. He poured some and handed her the water. She smiled and poured.

Across town Darcy arrived. When he got out his car he took a look around him. Hard to believe he was here falling for a woman like Elizabeth. He picked up his cell phone and tried to call Charles again. He had a feeling he knew where Charles was and wasn't taking any chances. He didn't want it getting back to Elizabeth he was in town.

He had a list of hotels where George could possibly be. Everyone was assuming George would take Lydia out of town but what they didn't know was George would just take her to a hotel down the street and hide there.

He went to a couple hotels with no luck. He had luck when he went to the third hotel. He didn't have to get far to find him. George was sitting on a bar stool drinking a beer.

Darcy sat down next to him. "Are we having women trouble?"

George turned to him. "What the hell do you want?"

"I wanted a drink."

An eyebrow was raised. "I really doubt that."

"You know me so well, huh? Well than you know what I'm about to say."

He turned to give George his full attention. He was finally going to give him a

piece of his mind. He didn't care if there were stares already forming in their direction. George looked at him unsure what to think. Darcy was not going down without a fight.


	22. Chapter 22

**I had to change the plot a little since we live in 2010 and times have changed. Hope you don't mind.**

Darcy refused to leave the bar until he talked to George. He was not letting him get away this time. "What happened to you?"  
"What do you mean?"  
He took a sip of a glass of water. "You use to be a nice guy."

"I'm still a nice guy."

He laughed. George a nice guy was a joke. "I doubt that." George looked at some woman who walked into the bar. "If you were a nice guy you wouldn't be checking out that woman."

George shrugged his shoulders. "I can look, just not touch. Besides who cares? I'm single."  
"Last time I checked you were dating Lydia."  
George didn't reply. He continued to stare at the woman and took a sip of his drink. Darcy sat there staring at him. He had to keep telling himself to act like an adult and not hit the guy.

George turned back to Darcy. "Lydia is nice and all but her sister? Now that's a great woman."  
His fingers tightened. He kept his arms down but fists ready to go if needed. "She wouldn't date you."

George chuckled. "I find I can be very persuasive."  
He rolled his eyes. "If that is true than why aren't you with her now?"  
Looking down at his glass, George shrugged. "She has too much stuff going on right now for a relationship."

He couldn't help himself. "Oh is that so? Hmm, I didn't think that when she visited with me recently."

George stopped his drink midair and placed it down. Turning to face him, George had raised an eyebrow. "She was probably being nice."

His hand went onto his lap with fist ready to swing. "Why did you pick Elizabeth? She is a nice woman. Why break her heart?"  
George looked up at him. "Who said I was breaking her heart?"  
"Oh come on. You're a player. She's not that stupid. Did you forget about her sister already?"  
"Lydia is just a fling."  
"It doesn't matter you can't hurt someone like that."  
George shakes his head. "Don't worry about me. Just worry about yourself. What happens with me, Elizabeth, and her sister is none of your business. Go find someone else to bug." He went for another sip.

"No, I'm not letting you hurt Elizabeth. Leave Lydia alone or I'm making your life a living hell."

George laughed. "I would like to see you try."  
He couldn't control his hand anymore. His arm went up and his hand made contact with George's cheek. George fell off the stool and hit the floor. He rubbed his cheek. "What the hell?"  
"Never go near Elizabeth and Lydia ever again."  
He rubbed his knuckles and walked out of the bar. He was across the front desk counter when he saw Lydia coming out of the hotel's store.

The two laid eyes on each other. She smiled and waved. He stood there unsure if he should say anything to her. Should he tell her what he told Elizabeth? Maybe Elizabeth already told her but than why was she still here?

He didn't have a choice. Lydia started walking towards him. He stood in place as she came parallel to him. "Hello Darcy."  
"Hello Lydia." He was feeling very awkward. "What brings you here?"

"Oh. I'm just visiting with a friend."

A friend, sure she was. "That's nice."

He turned to walk away and watched Lydia step towards the bar. "Lydia."

She stops and turns to him. "Yes?"  
"Do me a favor." She gives him a blank look. "Don't do it. Don't marry or even date George. He'll break your heart. Trust me. You can ask my sister and I bet you can ask yours."  
She didn't say anything and just stood there. He turned his head one more time before exiting the building and saw George coming out towards Lydia. Lydia looks back at him. He waves and closes the door behind him.

Elizabeth was relieved. Her sister was home and not married to George. Her mother had called her and told her to visit them at home. By the tone in her mother's voice she knew everything to be okay. She grabbed her keys before hanging up the phone and ran out the door without telling Jane or Charles where she was going.

Everyone was sitting in the family room when she came into the house. She sat down next to Lydia who patted her leg when she sat down. She raised her eyebrow. "You okay?"  
Lydia nodded her head. "I am now."

Mary shook her head. "Yeah but that's because she wants to date his friend Denny." Elizabeth kept her mouth shut. Instead she turned her attention to Lydia. "So besides Denny what made you change your mind?"  
Lydia took a sip of her coffee she was holding. "It was Darcy."  
Her jaw dropped. "What?"  
"Oh it was nothing." Lydia waved her hand. "He just stood up for me."

"Why?"

"He punched George."

She hid a smile. She tried to picture Darcy hitting George. It was romantic but yet she found it funny. She also couldn't help but wonder if that punch was really because Darcy cared about her and didn't want to see her hurt.

Lydia lost her after that. All she could think about was Darcy. She had to call him. No one was leaving her along though. Everytime she escaped to call. Someone would brother her. She gave up after awhile.

Four hours later she was opening her apartment door. She expected to see Jane and Charles. To her surprise, sitting on the couch was Darcy's Aunt. The moment she stepped into the room she felt the wrong vibe. There was no way this visit was going to go well.

She smiled at his Aunt. Jane and Charles got up to leave. Charles patted her on the shoulder. Jane whispered good luck as she walked past Elizabeth. She was definitely going to need it.


	23. Chapter 23

Elizabeth sat down on the couch and looked at Darcy's Aunt who was standing only inches from her with her arms crossed.

"How could you do it?"  
She raised an eyebrow. How could she what? She had no clue what was going on. Actually that was a lie. She had a pretty good idea but wanted to avoid that as much as possible. She did find it odd that his Aunt was standing in her apartment. There was no reason for her to be here. It wasn't like she was hiding Darcy in her bedroom. She bit her bottom lip at the thought.

Smiling up at Catherine she got up from the couch. "How could I what?" If she had to play dumb to get the answer so be it.

"Why is my nephew in love with you? Did you put him under a spell?"

A cough escaped. "I'm sorry what?"  
Catherine backed away. "You heard me."

What drugs was she on? Darcy loved her? That was impossible. If he really did love her he should be here. Here in her arms. Not in another city far away from her.

"Do you deny it? Are you two going to get married?"  
Her bottom lip was bitten again. She gulped. "Married? How could I marry someone who I'm not with? If we were to get married it would be our decision. Not yours."  
She couldn't help herself. She stepped forward. The two were only inches from each other. Catherine stepped back and let out a sigh. "I beg you not to date my nephew. You will ruin him. He is a great man and he will do great things. He doesn't need a woman like you on his arm."

A laugh was held in. "Thank you for your time Catherine and I'm sorry you wasted your time today but I can assure you. Darcy and I aren't dating and if we do. I'll make sure to invite you to the wedding." She smirked at Catherine before pointing her hand to the front door.

Catherine's head shook and she walked to the door. "You will be sorry." With that she slammed the front door.

Elizabeth stood there in amazement. Why of all people did it have to be his aunt? Why couldn't it be him?

She was interrupted in her thoughts when a door down the hall opened. Charles and Jane both came out.

They grabbed her on each arm and dragged her to the couch. She fell down in between them.

"What was that all about?"

"Why was Darcy's Aunt here?"  
The two of them went back and forth before Elizabeth could finally get an answer out.  
"I like him."

Jane sat back on the couch. "Who do you like?"  
Was she seriously playing this game? "I like Darcy." She felt a relief lifted off her shoulders. She turned to face Charles. "Please don't tell him."  
She finds herself grabbing his hands and holding them in her lap. "I ask you again. Please don't tell him."  
All Charles could do was smile. "I won't. Why don't you tell him how you feel? I'm sure it will be okay."  
Not saying anything she let go of his hands and got up from the couch. She walks towards the window and looks down at where Catherine was getting into her car. "How do you know?" She turns to face Charles. He looks down at the floor and shrugs. "I just know these things."

Before he can say anything else there is a knock at the door.

Darcy couldn't believe his Aunt. He called the house to tell her he would be late for the family dinner and his cousin informed him about his Aunt. How could she even think about going behind his back and go to Elizabeth.

His relationship was none of her business. He had it with her for the last time. He was not going to put up with this. Unfortunately this wasn't the first time she intervened with his relationships and he was sure it wouldn't be his last. He bit his bottom lip as the thought of Elizabeth being his next and final relationship.

He slammed his car door the moment he parked his car in his Aunt's driveway. Anne his cousin was at the door in seconds. Her hand stayed on the door and she blocked him from coming in. "Fitz what's going on?"  
He moved to the side to look inside. "Where is she?"  
"Where is who?"

Rolling his eyes he looked back at Anne. "Don't give me that. Where is your mother? She was here only minutes ago."  
Anne stepped back at his tone. "She went out."

"Where did she go?"  
Anne paused before answering. "She went to Elizabeth's."

He didn't brother to say good-bye. He ran and got back into his car.

Elizabeth stands on her tip toes to look out the peep hole. The moment she sees him she jumps back. Charles and Jane both stand up and rush to her. "What's wrong?"

"Jane he's here."  
She watches Jane go to the peep hole. She turns and smiles at Elizabeth. Jane opens the door.

"Hi Darcy, how are you?"  
He smiles. "Good." Darcy makes eye contact with Elizabeth over Jane's head. They stare at each other. She feels two hands on her back and she is pushed forward. She turns to Charles. He smiles and nods his head. Jane stands next to Charles and they watch the two for a minute.

Darcy speaks up. "Can I talk to you?"  
She nods. Elizabeth walks out to the hallway and the apartment closes behind her.


	24. Chapter 24

Elizabeth listened to the door closed behind her. She could hear two sets of feet on the other side. Darcy looked over her head at the door and shook his head. He waved his hand down the hall. She nodded and followed him. They stopped at the elevator and both sat on the couch next to the elevator instantly.

She looked down at her hands wondering if she should say something first. He asked her to talk so technically he should be the first one to speak but he wasn't moving. With the corner of her eye she looked at his lap and saw his hands on his knees and shaking. Was he that nervous?

She cleared her throat and he finally looked at her. "Look I'm sorry about my aunt. I don't know why she did that."

Oh, so he didn't really know how she felt about him? She moved her hands on the bench to get up. His hand fell on top of hers. She stopped from getting up and looked at him. "Elizabeth, I care about you. I care about you more than I have ever cared about anyone."

She hated that word. So he cared about her, what about love?  
"I've never felt anything like this for a woman."

There was a pain in her lip as she bit into it. She really wanted to smile but feared she would smile too wide scaring him away.

His eyes widen at her lips. "Are you okay?"  
She nodded her head. "I am. It's just. I do like you but I never imagined that you would feel the s-s-same way."

She held her breathe in for a second after she stuttered. He smiled. His hand that still had yet to move squeezed her hand. She gulped.

"I'm sorry what George did to you and your family." He shook his head. "I should have warned you from the beginning."

A door opened down the hall. Both froze and stared at the wall. The door closed again. "No, don't do this. It wasn't your fault."

"It is."  
She shook her head and placed her hand under his chin and had him turn to her. "No, it's not. You know very well that I knew George before I met you. I should have seen the signs." She couldn't say the words that she was blinded by love. She wanted to be with Darcy, not make him run. Not this time.

He met her eyes. She couldn't help but smile. There was actually a guy out there willing to cry for her. She moved her hand a little and wiped the tear from his cheek.

A laugh escaped him. "Isn't it my job to do that?"

"Nah, it's 2010. Women can do anything these days now."  
"Ah, I see." He moved her hand away and held onto it. "Well let me at least do this." He grabbed her chin and pulled her head up to his. She had to really stretch on her knees and legs to reach him. The moment their lips touched she felt that any minute now she would wake up from a dream. This was the real thing. He was actually kissing her. If she could, she would never let go.

One year later….

Elizabeth and Darcy were sitting down to dinner. Tonight was the night. Darcy was going to ask her to marry him. All she assumed was dinner with the family. He wanted to ask her on this night because a year ago that was when they became one. Naturally her mother had to ruin his plans and come for a visit. He tried to get her out of having them over for dinner but he had no success. Now here he was sitting across from her mother.

He didn't care. He was happy, he was going to spend the rest of his life with the woman he loved, even if she came with her mother and sister. He looked at her father and sister, Mary. They were probably the sanest of her family but they had their moments.

He felt a kick on his foot. He looked back at Elizabeth. She mouthed, "Are you okay?"  
He nodded. He stood up and went over to her. She raised an eyebrow at him as he bent down.  
"Elizabeth will you marry me."  
She threw herself into his arms knocking him over. They both laughed. "Of course I will."

**Hope you enjoyed it! I'm hoping to do a modern tale for the other five as well. I just need to figure out which one is next and how to make it modern. **


End file.
